Bailard Inc. Raises Stock Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Bailard Inc. increased its position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 32.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,500 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $692,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 53.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 986 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Meritage Homes by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,409 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp raised its position in Meritage Homes by 42.1% in the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 675 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $43,607.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547 in the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $98.50 price objective (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH stock opened at $70.78 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 1.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.35. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $70.28 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.16%.

Meritage Homes Profile

Meritage Homes Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs and builds single-family attached and detached homes in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Homebuilding and Financial Services. It acquires and develops land; and constructs, markets, and sells homes for entry-level and first move-up buyers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah, Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.