Blueshift Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 3,051 Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,051 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 986 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,293 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 2.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 20.1% during 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 in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $71.50 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $75.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 1.92. Meritage Homes Co. has a one year low of $68.93 and a one year high of $106.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $98.50 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,353.99. The trade was a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.