Groupama Asset Managment Makes New Investment in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 500,000 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,910,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 266,967 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,065,000 after purchasing an additional 39,522 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth $336,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth $101,695,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 314,323 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $48,349,000 after acquiring an additional 78,087 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $43,607.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % 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 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MTH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One 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 target price of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE MTH opened at $70.87 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 1.92. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12 month low of $68.71 and a 12 month high of $106.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $74.70 and a 200-day moving average of $85.95. 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 (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.16%.

About Meritage Homes

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.