Raymond James & Associates Boosts Stock Position in M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:MDC)

Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:MDC - Free Report) by 23.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 898,855 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 168,214 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned 1.20% of M.D.C. worth $49,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in M.D.C. in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of M.D.C. by 100.0% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 640 shares of the construction company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of M.D.C. during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of M.D.C. by 31.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,447 shares of the construction company's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of M.D.C. during the first quarter worth approximately $72,000. 88.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David E. Blackford sold 6,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.69, for a total transaction of $388,678.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,534 shares of the company's stock, valued at $848,446.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 23.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

M.D.C. Stock Up 0.0 %

MDC traded up $0.03 during trading on Thursday, hitting $62.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,467,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,771,191. The company has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 1.54. M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.47 and a twelve month high of $63.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 3.92 and a current ratio of 9.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.56.

M.D.C. (NYSE:MDC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. M.D.C. had a net margin of 8.64% and a return on equity of 12.32%. M.D.C.'s revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

M.D.C. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 6th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. M.D.C.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered shares of M.D.C. from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $57.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of M.D.C. in a research note on Tuesday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of M.D.C. in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.13.

M.D.C. Company Profile

M.DC Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the homebuilding and financial service businesses. Its homebuilding operations include purchasing finished lots or developing lots for the construction and sale primarily of single-family detached homes to first-time and first-time move-up homebuyers under the Richmond American Homes name.