Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:MDC)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its position in M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:MDC – Get Rating) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,344 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,178 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in M.D.C. were worth $864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MDC. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in M.D.C. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,721,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of M.D.C. by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,807,068 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $131,813,000 after purchasing an additional 247,697 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of M.D.C. in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,670,000. River Road Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of M.D.C. in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,391,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of M.D.C. by 69.5% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 371,508 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $14,057,000 after acquiring an additional 152,388 shares in the last quarter. 82.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

M.D.C. Price Performance

MDC opened at $40.36 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 3.43 and a current ratio of 9.12. M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.04 and a 1-year high of $43.66. The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.38 and a 200-day moving average of $36.25. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 1.37.

M.D.C. (NYSE:MDC – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 2nd. The construction company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.64. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $887.13 million. M.D.C. had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. Equities analysts expect that M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

M.D.C. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 9th. M.D.C.’s payout ratio is 29.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at M.D.C.

In other news, CFO Robert Nathaniel Martin sold 13,226 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.55, for a total value of $549,540.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 299,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,463,421.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Robert Nathaniel Martin sold 13,226 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.55, for a total transaction of $549,540.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 299,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,463,421.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Raymond T. Baker sold 29,160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.24, for a total transaction of $1,202,558.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 48,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,001,212.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 337,609 shares of company stock valued at $13,923,750 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MDC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of M.D.C. from $30.50 to $27.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 6th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of M.D.C. in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of M.D.C. in a report on Tuesday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, M.D.C. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.50.

M.D.C. Profile

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M.DC Holdings, Inc engages in proving homebuilding and financial services. It operates through the following business segments: West, Mountain, and East. The West segment includes operations in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. The Mountain segment refers to the operations in Colorado, Idaho, and Utah.