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

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MTH. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,764,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 278.1% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,071,802 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $75,969,000 after acquiring an additional 788,323 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 84.6% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 878,089 shares of the construction company's stock worth $62,239,000 after buying an additional 402,411 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 5,941.7% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 725 shares of the construction company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 101.2% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 85,426 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $6,055,000 after buying an additional 42,966 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wedbush reduced their target price on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.71.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of MTH traded down $0.68 on Monday, hitting $82.15. 846,309 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 987,345. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.39 and a beta of 1.35. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $106.99. The stock's 50 day moving average is $73.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.97.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The business's revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.47%.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, Director Joseph Keough bought 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 41,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,758,872. This represents a 10.61% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola purchased 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $665,840. This represents a 30.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.