Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. Acquires 3,909 Shares of Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS)

Key Points

• Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Masco Corporation by 9.3% during Q1, bringing their total shares to 45,732, valued at $3.19 million.
• Masco reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.30 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and showing a 10.51% net margin despite a 1.9% decrease in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, with a payout ratio of 33.88% and an annualized yield of 1.8%, payable on August 25th.

Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. increased its stake in Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,732 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,909 shares during the quarter. Masco comprises 2.3% of Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc.'s holdings in Masco were worth $3,194,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MAS. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Masco by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,129,771 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $371,265,000 after buying an additional 58,739 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Masco by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,900,643 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $283,070,000 after buying an additional 337,164 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,821,629 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $204,766,000 after acquiring an additional 360,931 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,762,250 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $200,456,000 after acquiring an additional 305,156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,463,217 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $178,756,000 after acquiring an additional 142,318 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on MAS. Baird R W downgraded Masco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating on shares of Masco in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Masco from $82.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird downgraded Masco from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Masco from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.70.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MAS traded up $0.86 during trading on Friday, reaching $68.99. 4,104,872 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,357,834. Masco Corporation has a 52-week low of $56.55 and a 52-week high of $86.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.63, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a 50-day moving average of $64.65 and a 200-day moving average of $67.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.16.

Masco (NYSE:MAS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The construction company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.22. Masco had a return on equity of 1,519.31% and a net margin of 10.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Masco Corporation will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Masco's dividend payout ratio is 32.89%.

Masco Company Profile

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.