Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Holdings in Masco Corporation $MAS

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) by 23.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 105,773 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 32,986 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Masco were worth $6,386,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Masco in the 4th quarter worth $194,818,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Masco during the third quarter valued at about $192,948,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Masco by 443.6% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,330,523 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $164,046,000 after buying an additional 1,901,815 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Masco by 234.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,624,841 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $103,112,000 after buying an additional 1,139,098 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Masco by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,063,286 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $384,776,000 after buying an additional 977,684 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Masco Price Performance

MAS stock opened at $79.88 on Monday. Masco Corporation has a one year low of $58.16 and a one year high of $80.80. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $70.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 109.07, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.75. The company has a market capitalization of $16.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.31.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. Masco had a net margin of 10.90% and a return on equity of 815.20%. Masco’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. Masco has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.100-4.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Masco Corporation will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is 31.76%.

Masco announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Masco from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Masco from $69.00 to $61.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Masco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Masco from $65.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.07.

About Masco

Masco Corporation is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of branded home improvement and building products. Founded in 1929 and headquartered in Livonia, Michigan, the company has evolved from a small door‐bell manufacturer into a diversified enterprise serving both residential and commercial markets. Over its history, Masco has grown through a combination of organic innovation and strategic acquisitions, building a portfolio of well-recognized brands.

The company’s product offerings are organized into two primary segments.