Norges Bank Invests $101.70 Million in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 661,127 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $101,695,000. Norges Bank owned 0.91% of Meritage Homes at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 314,323 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $48,349,000 after acquiring an additional 78,087 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 1,597.6% in the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 84,610 shares of the construction company's stock worth $13,015,000 after purchasing an additional 79,626 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,074,741 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $626,777,000 after purchasing an additional 26,889 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 56.1% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 10,265 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,579,000 after purchasing an additional 3,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth about $687,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on MTH shares. StockNews.com downgraded Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $98.50 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH stock traded up $2.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $69.08. 1,927,085 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 871,280. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1-year low of $65.19 and a 1-year high of $106.99. The company has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 1.69.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is 13.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Company 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.