Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Sells 53,370 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) by 27.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 143,438 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 53,370 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC owned 0.07% of Masco worth $10,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MAS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter worth about $129,306,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,157,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,678,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Masco by 14.7% in 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 during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Masco by 91.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 708,830 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $51,440,000 after acquiring an additional 338,925 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In other news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total value of $1,658,768.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at $4,601,988.12. This represents a 26.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total transaction of $225,317.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,370,678.06. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MAS. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (down from $91.00) on shares of Masco in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Loop Capital set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Masco and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Masco in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $71.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Masco from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $73.63.

Masco Stock Performance

MAS traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $63.11. 376,218 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,073,993. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. The company's fifty day moving average price is $63.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.09. Masco Co. has a 52-week low of $56.55 and a 52-week high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. Masco had a net margin of 10.50% and a return on equity of 838.32%. Masco's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. Masco's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.88%.

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.