First Trust Advisors LP Increases Stock Holdings in Masco Corporation $MAS

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) by 10.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,242,163 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 113,317 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Masco were worth $74,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Masco by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,235,505 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $649,545,000 after buying an additional 60,430 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Masco by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,063,286 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $384,776,000 after buying an additional 977,684 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Masco by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,850,170 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $411,832,000 after buying an additional 58,609 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Masco by 76.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,826,584 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $306,295,000 after acquiring an additional 2,085,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Masco by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,405,974 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $216,143,000 after acquiring an additional 518,679 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MAS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Masco from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research raised Masco from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Evercore upgraded Masco from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Masco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Masco from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.67.

Masco Stock Up 2.6%

Masco stock opened at $79.32 on Friday. Masco Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.16 and a fifty-two week high of $83.21. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $74.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.01. The company has a market capitalization of $16.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.29.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.16. Masco had a return on equity of 815.20% and a net margin of 10.90%.The company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Masco Corporation will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Masco Dividend Announcement

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

Masco Company Profile

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.