ProShare Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

ProShare Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 23.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,607 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,740 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MTH. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,686,000. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 361.6% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 9,098 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 7,127 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 119.1% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 19,678 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,184,000 after purchasing an additional 10,696 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the second quarter valued at $259,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 2nd quarter worth $2,194,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH stock opened at $203.74 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a PE ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 1.80. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $193.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.01. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52 week low of $109.23 and a 52 week high of $213.98.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $1.14. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.09 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 13.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.36, for a total transaction of $595,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,307 shares in the company, valued at $2,837,936.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $512,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,136,850. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.36, for a total value of $595,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,837,936.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $3,111,080 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MTH. StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wolfe Research raised Meritage Homes from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $173.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.00.

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.