Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Position Boosted by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 78,743 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,857 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Meritage Homes worth $12,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Meritage Homes by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 314,323 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $48,349,000 after purchasing an additional 78,087 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 14,589 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,699 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,337,000 after purchasing an additional 4,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 84.6% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of MTH stock opened at $68.16 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12 month low of $59.27 and a 12 month high of $106.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $68.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.43.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.06 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Meritage Homes

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.