Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 73,755 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 6,573 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.10% of Meritage Homes worth $11,345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MTH. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 53.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 235.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 42.1% during the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 675 shares of the construction company's stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of MTH stock traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $77.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,292,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 971,422. The business has a fifty day moving average of $79.47 and a 200-day moving average of $89.04. The stock has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.94 and a beta of 1.88. Meritage Homes Co. has a twelve month low of $69.26 and a twelve month high of $106.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $98.50 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following 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 have 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.

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.