Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Acquired by Man Group plc

Man Group plc increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 154.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 59,236 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 35,918 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned about 0.08% of Meritage Homes worth $9,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MTH. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 211,043 shares of the construction company's stock worth $43,279,000 after acquiring an additional 32,810 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 12,002 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,846,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 130,301 shares of the construction company's stock worth $20,043,000 after acquiring an additional 20,318 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,821 shares of the construction company's stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,250 shares of the construction company's stock worth $500,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 0.2%

MTH stock traded down $0.12 on Friday, hitting $64.23. 536,392 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 884,992. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $59.27 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $67.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 1.50.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.02). Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.06 EPS. The business's revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MTH shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $97.72.

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.