Swiss National Bank Has $10.98 Million Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,400 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.10% of Meritage Homes worth $10,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,421,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 143.2% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 9,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 5,300 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 27.4% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,713 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,648,000 after purchasing an additional 2,304 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 13,817.9% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 5,428 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $835,000 after purchasing an additional 5,389 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 188.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 19,281 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,966,000 after purchasing an additional 12,598 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $71.50 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $75.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.25. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $68.93 and a 12-month high of $106.99.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.25.

Insider Activity

In other Meritage Homes news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 that occurred 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 directly owns 30,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,238,789.63. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547. 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.