Schroder Investment Management Group Reduces Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Schroder Investment Management Group lowered its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 86.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,035 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 19,900 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 3rd quarter worth $248,000. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 78.3% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,102 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 3,558 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,773,609 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $363,714,000 after purchasing an additional 74,422 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $370,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 7,870 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,238,789.63. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Remove Ads

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

MTH traded up $0.64 during trading on Friday, reaching $63.84. 1,044,138 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 878,035. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 1.69. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $71.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $106.99.

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, research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is 13.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MTH shares. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $98.50 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective 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. StockNews.com cut Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.25.

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.