Northern Trust Corp Raises Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 475,678 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 21,123 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.66% of Meritage Homes worth $73,169,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 18.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 211,043 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $43,279,000 after acquiring an additional 32,810 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 244,776 shares of the construction company's stock worth $50,196,000 after buying an additional 21,092 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,763 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,963,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 12,002 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,846,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the period. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 95.0% during the fourth quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 6,356 shares of the construction company's stock worth $978,000 after acquiring an additional 3,096 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE MTH traded down $0.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $68.22. 460,084 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 877,012. Meritage Homes Co. has a one year low of $59.27 and a one year high of $106.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $68.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.08. 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 company has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.50.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.06 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. 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 yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is currently 14.06%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,238,789.63. This trade 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 this link. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.