Swiss National Bank Has $10.98 Million Stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 71,400 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $10,983,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 65.7% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 17,259 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,539,000 after acquiring an additional 6,843 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 235.1% during 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 raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 14,589 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,244,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the third quarter worth $1,338,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 7.3% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 120,767 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $24,765,000 after acquiring an additional 8,207 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated 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. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Meritage Homes stock opened at $71.50 on Friday. 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 $68.93 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The stock has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 1.92. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.25.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.16%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. The trade was a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.