Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 21,165 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 344,141 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 21,165 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.15% of Masco worth $23,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MAS. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Masco by 118,819.3% during 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 buying an additional 6,972,319 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Masco during the fourth quarter worth $69,716,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Masco during the first quarter worth $44,883,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 847,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Masco by 15.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,320,936 shares of the construction company's stock worth $284,404,000 after purchasing an additional 711,988 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MAS. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Masco from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Masco from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Masco in a research report on Friday, January 19th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Masco from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Masco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $69.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In other Masco news, VP Richard Allan Marshall sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 10,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $806,328.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Masco news, VP Richard Allan Marshall sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.05, for a total transaction of $385,250.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,328.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 36,210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total value of $2,703,076.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 58,885 shares in the company, valued at $4,395,765.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 83,762 shares of company stock valued at $6,337,597. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Masco Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Masco stock traded down $0.14 on Thursday, hitting $72.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,863,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,036,417. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.01, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $75.41 and a 200 day moving average of $66.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.05, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.68. Masco Co. has a twelve month low of $47.66 and a twelve month high of $78.94.

Masco (NYSE:MAS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 11.40% and a return on equity of 3,111.50%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This is an increase from Masco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.93%.

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.