Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Purchased by XTX Topco Ltd

XTX Topco Ltd raised its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 361.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,098 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,127 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 157.6% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 1,033.3% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 272 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the second quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 4.8 %

Meritage Homes stock opened at $203.33 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $191.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.98. The stock has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a PE ratio of 9.48 and a beta of 1.81. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1-year low of $109.23 and a 1-year high of $213.98. 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 (NYSE:MTH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $1.14. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during 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 revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.02 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Raymond James increased their price target on Meritage Homes from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.00.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,084,793.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $512,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,136,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,111,080 in the last ninety days. 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.