Bank of Montreal Can Grows Stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 74.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,908 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,772 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $2,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

NYSE:MTH opened at $62.81 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52 week low of $59.27 and a 52 week high of $106.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $70.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.78.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. Equities analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MTH. 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group cut their price target on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.