Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 32.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,862 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,914 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 628 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth about $144,000. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth about $229,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MTH. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn cut Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total value of $406,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 100,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,322,302.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total value of $406,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 100,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,322,302.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.99, for a total value of $35,340.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,408.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,998 shares of company stock worth $635,171 in the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH opened at $165.05 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1 year low of $109.23 and a 1 year high of $179.68. The firm has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.29 and a beta of 1.77.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.54 by $1.52. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.03% and a net margin of 12.03%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 17.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.06%.

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.