Analysts Set Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Target Price at $69.62

Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $69.62.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Masco in a report on Friday, January 19th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Barclays increased their price target on Masco from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Citigroup increased their price target on Masco from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Masco from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Masco from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 9th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jai Shah sold 42,552 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total value of $3,249,270.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,208,778.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jai Shah sold 42,552 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total value of $3,249,270.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,208,778.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Allan Marshall sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.05, for a total transaction of $385,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,328.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 83,762 shares of company stock valued at $6,337,597. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Masco

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MAS. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Masco by 118,819.3% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,978,187 shares of the construction company's stock worth $325,672,000 after purchasing an additional 6,972,319 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Masco during the fourth quarter worth $122,144,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Masco during the first quarter worth $78,181,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Masco during the first quarter worth $44,883,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Masco by 209.6% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,251,223 shares of the construction company's stock worth $71,795,000 after acquiring an additional 847,062 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Masco Trading Down 0.5 %

MAS traded down $0.39 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $76.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,181,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,044,736. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $74.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.05, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $16.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.25. Masco has a twelve month low of $46.77 and a twelve month high of $78.94.

Masco (NYSE:MAS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. Masco had a return on equity of 3,111.50% and a net margin of 11.40%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Masco will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. This is a positive change from Masco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.93%.

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.