Trexquant Investment LP Lowers Stock Position in Masco Corporation $MAS

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP reduced its stake in Masco Corporation by 50.1%, owning 17,456 shares valued at approximately $1.21 million after selling 17,554 shares in the first quarter.
• Insider selling was reported as significant, with CAO Heath M. Eisman decreasing his stake by 16.80% and insider Jai Shah selling 82,910 shares for over $6.3 million, reducing ownership by 67.66%.
• Masco's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.30, exceeding estimates, though revenue was down 1.9% year-over-year, with a market cap of $15.88 billion.

Trexquant Investment LP decreased its position in shares of Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) by 50.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 17,456 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 17,554 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP's holdings in Masco were worth $1,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 339.2% during the first quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 100,376 shares of the construction company's stock worth $6,980,000 after buying an additional 77,521 shares during the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 6.9% during the first quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 74,938 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,211,000 after buying an additional 4,862 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 27.8% during the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 32,938 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,291,000 after buying an additional 7,162 shares during the last quarter. Brant Point Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 4.2% during the first quarter. Brant Point Investment Management LLC now owns 84,681 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,889,000 after buying an additional 3,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Bankshares Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 4.6% during the first quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. now owns 8,006 shares of the construction company's stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In other news, CAO Heath M. Eisman sold 2,431 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.62, for a total transaction of $181,401.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $898,126.32. The trade was a 16.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jai Shah sold 82,910 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.04, for a total transaction of $6,304,476.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 39,638 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,014,073.52. This represents a 67.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Masco from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Masco from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $73.00 price objective (up previously from $62.00) on shares of Masco in a report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Masco from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Masco in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.60.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of Masco stock traded down $1.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $73.68. 1,639,511 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,932,812. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.63. Masco Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $56.55 and a fifty-two week high of $86.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $70.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.05.

Masco (NYSE:MAS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The construction company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. Masco had a return on equity of 1,519.31% and a net margin of 10.51%.Masco's revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. Masco has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.900-4.100 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Masco Corporation will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Masco's payout ratio is currently 32.89%.

About Masco

Masco Corporation designs, manufactures, and distributes home improvement and building products in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company's Plumbing Products segment offers faucets, showerheads, handheld showers, valves, bath hardware and accessories, bathing units, shower bases and enclosures, sinks, toilets, acrylic tubs, shower trays, spas, exercise pools, and fitness systems; brass, copper, and composite plumbing system components; connected water products; thermoplastic solutions, extruded plastic profiles, specialized fabrications, and PEX tubing products; and other non-decorative plumbing products.