WINTON GROUP Ltd Buys 79,626 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 1,597.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,610 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 79,626 shares during the period. Meritage Homes accounts for 0.9% of WINTON GROUP Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. WINTON GROUP Ltd owned 0.12% of Meritage Homes worth $13,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 6.9% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,961 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,222,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 489,035 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $100,286,000 after purchasing an additional 5,732 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 49.6% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 73,469 shares of the construction company's stock worth $15,066,000 after purchasing an additional 24,362 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 70.9% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the construction company's stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 76.2% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,700 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Meritage Homes Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:MTH traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $70.27. 169,550 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 957,435. The stock has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 1.92. Meritage Homes Co. has a twelve month low of $68.71 and a twelve month high of $106.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $74.89 and a 200 day moving average of $86.14. 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 (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $98.50 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $43,607.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. The trade was 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 worth $122,547 over the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.