Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Purchased by Boston Partners

Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 18.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 232,835 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,023 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $35,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP increased 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 acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its position in Meritage Homes by 3,044.8% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 912 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $98.50 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.25.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MTH opened at $71.24 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 1.92. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.36. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52-week low of $68.93 and a 52-week high of $106.99.

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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.16%.

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.