Masco Corporation $MAS Shares Sold by USS Investment Management Ltd

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in Masco Corporation by 33% during Q1, owning 34,026 shares valued at $2.36 million.
• Various institutional investors have modified their positions in Masco, with Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increasing its holdings by over 120% in the same period.
• Masco Corporation's earnings exceeded analyst expectations, reporting $1.30 EPS against a consensus estimate of $1.08, while quarterly revenues were $2.05 billion.

USS Investment Management Ltd lessened its position in shares of Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) by 33.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,026 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 16,785 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Masco were worth $2,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAS. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Masco by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 48,994 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,555,000 after acquiring an additional 5,105 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in Masco by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 27,602 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,003,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Masco by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 10,149 shares of the construction company's stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Masco by 105.9% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,882 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 8,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in Masco by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 329,254 shares of the construction company's stock worth $23,894,000 after acquiring an additional 32,212 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MAS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Masco from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating on shares of Masco in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Masco from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Masco from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Masco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $74.60.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MAS traded down $1.55 on Friday, reaching $73.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,639,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,150,326. The stock's 50-day moving average is $70.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.06. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $15.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.19.

Masco (NYSE:MAS - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2 billion. Masco had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 1,519.31%. The business's revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. Masco has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.900-4.100 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Masco Corporation will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.