Masco Corporation $MAS Shares Sold by Yacktman Asset Management LP

Key Points

• Yacktman Asset Management reduced its Masco stake by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 19,148 shares and leaving it with 233,847 shares valued at about $14.84 million.
• Masco reported strong quarterly earnings with EPS of $1.04, beating estimates, though revenue of $1.92 billion came in below expectations; the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.32 and authorized a $2 billion share repurchase program.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mixed, with analysts assigning an average Hold rating and an average price target of $80.07, while institutional ownership remains very high at 93.91%.

Yacktman Asset Management LP cut its position in shares of Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 233,847 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 19,148 shares during the quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP owned about 0.11% of Masco worth $14,840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAS. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Masco during the third quarter worth about $192,948,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Masco by 443.6% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,330,523 shares of the construction company's stock worth $164,046,000 after acquiring an additional 1,901,815 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Masco by 32.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,085,602 shares of the construction company's stock worth $357,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240,322 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Masco by 502.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,055,362 shares of the construction company's stock worth $74,287,000 after acquiring an additional 880,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Masco by 24.0% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,104,852 shares of the construction company's stock worth $286,396,000 after acquiring an additional 793,591 shares during the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MAS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Masco from $84.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price target on Masco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Masco from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Masco from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Masco from $65.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Masco presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $80.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Heath M. Eisman sold 747 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.92, for a total value of $53,724.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $899,719.20. This represents a 5.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Masco Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of MAS opened at $71.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.34. Masco Corporation has a one year low of $58.16 and a one year high of $79.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 109.07, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $65.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.20.

Masco (NYSE:MAS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. Masco had a return on equity of 815.20% and a net margin of 10.90%.Masco's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. Masco has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.100-4.300 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Masco Corporation will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This is an increase from Masco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. Masco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.76%.

Masco declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Masco Company Profile

Masco Corporation is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of branded home improvement and building products. Founded in 1929 and headquartered in Livonia, Michigan, the company has evolved from a small door‐bell manufacturer into a diversified enterprise serving both residential and commercial markets. Over its history, Masco has grown through a combination of organic innovation and strategic acquisitions, building a portfolio of well-recognized brands.

The company's product offerings are organized into two primary segments.

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