Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Acquired by Boston Partners

Boston Partners increased its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 232,835 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 37,023 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned about 0.32% of Meritage Homes worth $35,815,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,773,609 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $363,714,000 after buying an additional 74,422 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 1.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 489,035 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $100,286,000 after buying an additional 5,732 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 26.9% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 483,159 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $99,081,000 after buying an additional 102,502 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 405,854 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $62,429,000 after buying an additional 3,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 75.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 347,227 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $71,206,000 after purchasing an additional 148,898 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on MTH shares. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 value of $43,607.55. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 directly owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:MTH opened at $71.24 on Thursday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $75.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.36. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52 week low of $68.93 and a 52 week high of $106.99. The company has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 1.92.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. On average, analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.16%.

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.