Hsbc Holdings PLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC significantly reduced its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation by 86.9%, selling 25,510 shares and ending with a total of 3,854 shares worth $272,000.
• Despite Hsbc's divestment, other institutional investors are actively increasing their holdings in Meritage Homes, with some firms like Byrne Asset Management LLC expanding their positions by 329.9% in the first quarter.
• Meritage Homes announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 2.1%, with a payout ratio of 15.47%.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 86.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,854 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 25,510 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 166.5% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Meritage Homes by 77.7% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 329.9% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Meritage Homes by 246.4% during the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of Meritage Homes stock traded down $0.47 on Wednesday, reaching $78.62. The stock had a trading volume of 656,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 928,049. The business's 50 day moving average is $74.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.15. The company has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. Meritage Homes's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.15 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total transaction of $556,069.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 221,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,707,813.20. This trade represents a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola acquired 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $665,840. The trade was a 30.09% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.71.

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.