13,556 Shares in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Bought by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 13,556 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,194,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 523,332 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $91,164,000 after buying an additional 26,682 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 13.5% in the first quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 490,660 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $86,091,000 after purchasing an additional 58,350 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,297,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 247,228 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $43,067,000 after purchasing an additional 77,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 227,300 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,789,000 after purchasing an additional 10,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE MTH opened at $202.56 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $190.29 and a 200-day moving average of $174.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.93. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12 month low of $109.23 and a 12 month high of $211.01. The company has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 1.81.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.99%. Meritage Homes’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 13.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 10,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.35, for a total value of $2,003,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,084,793.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Meritage Homes news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the business’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 transaction of $512,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,570 shares in the company, valued at $9,136,850. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.35, for a total transaction of $2,003,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,084,793.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,111,080. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MTH shares. Wolfe Research raised Meritage Homes from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Meritage Homes from $173.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.00.

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.