Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Acquired by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 475,678 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,123 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.66% of Meritage Homes worth $73,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $101,695,000. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,910,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 2,199.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 305,605 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $47,008,000 after buying an additional 292,317 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,147,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 61.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 571,120 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $87,850,000 after buying an additional 217,618 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:MTH traded down $0.97 on Friday, reaching $68.22. The company had a trading volume of 460,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 878,270. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-week high of $106.99. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $68.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The business'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. As a group, analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is 14.06%.

Insider Activity

In other Meritage Homes news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,238,789.63. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 1.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.