Aquatic Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) by 83.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,530 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,630 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in Masco were worth $1,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MAS. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,129,771 shares of the construction company's stock worth $371,265,000 after acquiring an additional 58,739 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Masco by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,250,400 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $235,881,000 after purchasing an additional 299,520 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Masco by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,997,839 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $218,063,000 after purchasing an additional 520,555 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Masco by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,821,629 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $204,766,000 after purchasing an additional 360,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Masco by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,103,820 shares of the construction company's stock worth $152,569,000 after purchasing an additional 185,286 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Masco

In other news, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 33,027 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,370,678.06. The trade was a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the firm'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 owns 60,267 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This represents a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Masco from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer raised Masco from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $89.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Masco from $92.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Masco has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.10.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of Masco stock traded up $2.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $62.32. 2,613,149 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,742,091. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Masco Co. has a 52-week low of $56.55 and a 52-week high of $86.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.12. The company has a market capitalization of $13.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.23.

Masco (NYSE:MAS - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $1.80 billion during 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. This is a boost from Masco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Masco's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.88%.

Masco 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.