Victory Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 29.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,760 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 6,085 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $2,389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,753 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,700,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Meritage Homes by 5.2% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 12,122 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,962,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes during the second quarter worth about $388,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes during the second quarter worth about $22,887,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on MTH shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Wolfe Research raised Meritage Homes from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Meritage Homes from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of 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 lifted their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $173.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.00.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 44,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,136,850. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of Meritage Homes 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 owns 44,570 shares in the company, valued at $9,136,850. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,266 shares in the company, valued at $18,084,793.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $3,111,080. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $204.35 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 1.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $189.29 and a 200 day moving average of $174.20. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12 month low of $109.23 and a 12 month high of $210.58.

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

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

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

Meritage Homes 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.