Marshall Wace LLP Makes New Investment in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,391 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Long Pond Capital LP bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,303,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the first quarter worth $25,495,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 2nd quarter valued at $22,887,000. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 1st quarter valued at $23,106,000. Finally, Blackstone Inc. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 216.7% in the 1st quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 190,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,337,000 after acquiring an additional 130,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH stock opened at $191.93 on Friday. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12 month low of $109.23 and a 12 month high of $213.98. The stock has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a PE ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 1.80. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $194.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.31. 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 (NYSE:MTH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $1.14. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 12.98%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTH has been the subject of several recent 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 for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Wedbush lifted 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. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $173.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.00.

Insider Activity

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,084,793.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $18,084,793.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.36, for a total value of $595,080.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,111,080 over the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Meritage Homes

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.