Morningstar Investment Management LLC Purchases 42,562 Shares of Masco Corporation $MAS

Key Points

• Morningstar Investment Management nearly doubled its Masco position in Q1, buying 42,562 additional shares and bringing its stake to 87,998 shares valued at about $5.31 million.
• Several other institutional investors also increased their holdings, and institutions now own 93.91% of Masco’s stock, highlighting strong professional ownership interest in the company.
• Masco reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.04 per share, raised by recent analyst price-target increases, while the company also continues to return cash through a quarterly dividend and a $300 million share buyback authorization.

Morningstar Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) by 93.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,998 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 42,562 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC's holdings in Masco were worth $5,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Masco by 828.7% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,071,592 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $64,692,000 after acquiring an additional 956,204 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Masco by 18.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 347,326 shares of the construction company's stock worth $20,968,000 after purchasing an additional 53,864 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Masco by 3.1% in the first quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 31,906 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,926,000 after purchasing an additional 973 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Masco by 10.0% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,242,163 shares of the construction company's stock worth $74,989,000 after purchasing an additional 113,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ABN Amro Investment Solutions increased its holdings in Masco by 37.0% during the 1st quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 18,103 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 4,892 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MAS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Masco from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Masco from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Masco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Masco from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Masco from $79.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $80.67.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $79.32 on Friday. Masco Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.16 and a 1 year high of $83.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.29. The company's 50-day moving average is $74.41 and its 200 day moving average is $70.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 109.07, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Masco (NYSE:MAS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Masco had a net margin of 10.90% and a return on equity of 815.20%. Masco's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Masco Corporation will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. Masco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.76%.

Masco announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Masco

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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