Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 2,199.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 305,605 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 292,317 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.42% of Meritage Homes worth $47,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keybank National Association OH bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $279,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 73,755 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $11,345,000 after purchasing an additional 6,573 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 19,432 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,989,000 after buying an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,500 shares of the construction company's stock worth $692,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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 valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $427,353.99. The trade was a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $98.50 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Meritage Homes from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meritage Homes has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 3.1 %

NYSE MTH traded down $2.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $72.13. 711,142 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 978,227. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52 week low of $69.26 and a 52 week high of $106.99. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $79.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.49. The stock has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 1.92.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. This is an increase from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes's dividend 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.