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

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH traded down $1.92 on Wednesday, hitting $73.29. 999,991 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 999,343. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $72.19 and a 12 month high of $106.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $82.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.29.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 10.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.47%.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the third quarter worth $28,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 545.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 53.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at about $92,000. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $98.50 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.25.

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.