Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $6.53 Million in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 42,460 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.06% of Meritage Homes at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 8.1% during the fourth 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 period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Meritage Homes by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,409 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in Meritage Homes by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,821 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC raised its position in Meritage Homes by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 3,029 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $621,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com raised Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MTH opened at $70.37 on Monday. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $68.93 and a 12 month high of $106.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $75.56 and a 200-day moving average of $86.94. The company has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 1.92.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. The trade was a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of Meritage Homes 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 in the company, valued at $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.