Legal & General Group Plc Has $69.98 Million Position in Masco Corporation $MAS

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its stake in shares of Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) by 27.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,102,800 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 424,493 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Masco were worth $69,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MAS. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Masco during the 3rd quarter valued at $192,948,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Masco by 443.6% during 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 during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Masco by 32.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,085,602 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $357,976,000 after buying an additional 1,240,322 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Masco by 502.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,055,362 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $74,287,000 after buying an additional 880,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 140 Summer Partners LP acquired a new position in Masco during the third quarter worth $47,073,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MAS. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Masco from $79.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Masco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Masco from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Masco from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Evercore upgraded shares of Masco from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Masco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.07.

Masco Stock Performance

NYSE MAS opened at $70.32 on Friday. Masco Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.16 and a 1 year high of $79.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 109.07, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $14.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $66.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.44.

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

Masco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.76%.

Masco declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to reacquire up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.