Natixis Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Natixis Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,326 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,178 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,773,609 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $363,714,000 after purchasing an additional 74,422 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 489,035 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $100,286,000 after buying an additional 5,732 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 405,854 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $62,429,000 after buying an additional 3,219 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 75.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 347,227 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $71,206,000 after acquiring an additional 148,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 2,199.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 305,605 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,008,000 after acquiring an additional 292,317 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $73.37 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.92. Meritage Homes Co. has a one year low of $68.93 and a one year high of $106.99. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.79. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $98.50 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.25.

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.