Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys 23,592 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 408.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,364 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,592 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $4,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,293 shares of the construction company's stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,758 shares of the construction company's stock worth $578,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 3,219 shares of the construction company's stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH traded up $0.69 on Monday, hitting $69.37. 126,686 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 963,126. Meritage Homes Co. has a one year low of $59.27 and a one year 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.50. The company's 50 day moving average price is $69.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.84.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $97.72.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Company 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.