Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 56,626 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 331,883 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,626 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Masco were worth $28,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Masco by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,294,294 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $864,103,000 after acquiring an additional 194,297 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Masco by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,830,723 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $655,414,000 after purchasing an additional 181,515 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Masco by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,950,880 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $241,825,000 after purchasing an additional 26,259 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,855,056 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $190,347,000 after purchasing an additional 259,205 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Masco by 66.5% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,823,934 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $121,581,000 after buying an additional 728,690 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MAS has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Masco from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Masco from $76.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Masco from $80.00 to $83.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.88.

Masco Trading Down 3.4 %

MAS stock opened at $73.96 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $80.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.69. Masco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.60 and a fifty-two week high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.08. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2 billion. Masco had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 615.54%. Masco’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

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.