Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 5,300 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 143.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,000 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,300 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 53.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at about $92,000. Archer Investment Corp increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 42.1% during the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 675 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company's stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Meritage Homes Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MTH traded up $1.38 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.24. 472,658 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 979,110. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.48. 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 $68.93 and a 1-year high of $106.99. The firm has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 1.92.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. 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 Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547 over the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $98.50 price objective (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.25.

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.