JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 78,087 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 33.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 314,323 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 78,087 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.43% of Meritage Homes worth $48,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MTH. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 2,199.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 305,605 shares of the construction company's stock worth $47,008,000 after buying an additional 292,317 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $43,147,000. FMR LLC raised its position in Meritage Homes by 75.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 347,227 shares of the construction company's stock worth $71,206,000 after acquiring an additional 148,898 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its position in Meritage Homes by 1,597.6% in the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 84,610 shares of the construction company's stock worth $13,015,000 after acquiring an additional 79,626 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes in the third quarter worth about $16,056,000. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MTH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $98.50 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group cut 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, Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 price target 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, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.25.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owns 5,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 a total of 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of Meritage Homes stock traded down $1.90 during trading on Thursday, reaching $64.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 92,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 980,687. The company has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 1.69. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $72.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.95. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-week high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. On average, sell-side 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.16%.

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.