Hills Bank & Trust Co Boosts Holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Hills Bank & Trust Co grew its position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,758 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Masco were worth $1,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MAS. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Masco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Masco in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 70.6% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,051 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Masco by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Masco by 122.9% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,935 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Masco Price Performance

MAS stock traded up $1.37 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $72.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,245,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,030,132. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.76. Masco Co. has a 12 month low of $47.66 and a 12 month high of $78.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $74.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.99.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Masco had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 865.37%. Masco’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Masco news, insider Jai Shah sold 42,552 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $3,249,270.72. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,208,778.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Masco news, VP Richard Allan Marshall sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.05, for a total value 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 $806,328.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jai Shah sold 42,552 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,778.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 83,762 shares of company stock valued at $6,337,597 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MAS. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Masco from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Oppenheimer initiated 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 raised their target price on Masco from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Masco from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.15.

Masco Company 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.