Park Avenue Securities LLC Sells 329 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Park Avenue Securities LLC decreased its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 990 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 329 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 1,033.3% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 272 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the second quarter valued at about $61,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the second quarter worth about $64,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 16.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 676 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 149.6% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 694 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of MTH stock opened at $196.82 on Tuesday. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $109.23 and a 12-month high of $213.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $194.46 and a 200-day moving average of $179.79. The firm has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.18 and a beta of 1.80.

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

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Wedbush raised 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. StockNews.com downgraded Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Meritage Homes from $173.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.00.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $512,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,136,850. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,136,850. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.36, for a total value of $595,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,837,936.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $3,111,080 over the last quarter. Corporate 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.