Xponance Inc. Has $447,000 Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Xponance Inc. grew its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,904 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 550 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MTH. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Meritage Homes by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,961 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,222,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 1.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 489,035 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $100,286,000 after buying an additional 5,732 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 49.6% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 73,469 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,066,000 after buying an additional 24,362 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 70.9% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 1,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 76.2% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,700 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $759,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MTH. StockNews.com cut Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $98.50 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.0 %

MTH opened at $72.94 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a PE ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Meritage Homes Co. has a fifty-two week low of $68.93 and a fifty-two week high of $106.99. The company’s 50-day moving average is $75.25 and its 200 day moving average is $86.54.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

About Meritage Homes

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.