First Trust Advisors LP Buys 217,618 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 61.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 571,120 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 217,618 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.79% of Meritage Homes worth $87,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at $101,695,000. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth about $76,910,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 2,199.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 305,605 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,008,000 after buying an additional 292,317 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,147,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth about $13,446,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $64.71 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $70.39 and a 200-day moving average of $81.75. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-week high of $106.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought 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 directly owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $43,607.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547 in the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.