Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Chairman Steven J. Hilton Acquires 11,000 Shares of Stock

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

MTH opened at $73.29 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. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $72.19 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The business has a 50 day moving average of $82.60 and a 200-day moving average of $91.17. The stock has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.88.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 11.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lowered 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $98.50 price objective (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James downgraded Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 53.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 15.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at about $92,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

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.