Northern Trust Corp Has $283.07 Million Position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,900,643 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 337,164 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.81% of Masco worth $283,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Masco during the fourth quarter valued at about $129,306,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Masco by 21.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 520,555 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Masco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,157,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Masco by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,821,629 shares of the construction company's stock worth $204,766,000 after purchasing an additional 360,931 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Masco by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 708,830 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $51,440,000 after purchasing an additional 338,925 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MAS. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $71.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays set a $71.00 price target on shares of Masco and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Zelman & Associates raised Masco to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Loop Capital set a $62.00 target price on Masco and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Masco from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $73.10.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at $4,601,988.12. This trade represents a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total value of $225,317.42. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of MAS stock traded up $2.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $62.32. The company had a trading volume of 2,613,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,742,091. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.23. Masco Co. has a 12 month low of $56.55 and a 12 month high of $86.70. The firm's fifty day moving average is $66.71 and its 200 day moving average is $74.12.

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

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from Masco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Masco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.