Boston Partners Has $35.82 Million Stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F 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 owned 0.32% of Meritage Homes worth $35,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MTH. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 65.7% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 17,259 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,539,000 after buying an additional 6,843 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company's stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 14,589 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,244,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Meritage Homes during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,338,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 120,767 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $24,765,000 after purchasing an additional 8,207 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $98.50 price objective (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Meritage Homes from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 in the company, 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 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH traded up $2.99 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $73.37. 727,604 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 825,542. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock's fifty day moving average is $75.56 and its 200 day moving average is $86.94. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1-year low of $68.93 and a 1-year high of $106.99. The stock has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.92.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is presently 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.