Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Stock Position Lifted by Algert Global LLC

Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 49.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,489 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,072 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC owned about 0.09% of Meritage Homes worth $5,420,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Meritage Homes by 2.5% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 21,320 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,451,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 0.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 315,931 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $51,133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,460 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 2.5% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 718,607 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $116,307,000 after purchasing an additional 17,843 shares in the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 30.6% during the second quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 2,667 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LP grew its position in Meritage Homes by 13.9% during the second quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 11,824 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,445 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on MTH shares. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $173.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.00.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $203.74 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1-year low of $109.23 and a 1-year high of $213.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 1.80.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.02 earnings per share. Meritage Homes’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 13.99%.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,136,850. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,136,850. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.36, for a total transaction of $595,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 a total of 15,500 shares of company stock worth $3,111,080 in the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.