Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Sold by EMG Holdings L.P.

EMG Holdings L.P. lowered its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 69.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,961 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 24,805 shares during the quarter. Meritage Homes makes up about 0.9% of EMG Holdings L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. EMG Holdings L.P.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,774,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 17,318.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,916 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,905 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,817 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $665,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,297,000. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 96.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 40,352 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,029,000 after acquiring an additional 19,813 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MTH opened at $213.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 1.81. Meritage Homes Co. has a one year low of $109.23 and a one year high of $213.98. The company’s fifty day moving average is $191.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 1.93.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $1.14. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 12.98%. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.02 EPS. Analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 13.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Raymond James lifted their price objective 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective 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. Wedbush lifted 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.00.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,837,936.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Meritage Homes 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,084,793.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,000 shares of Meritage Homes 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,837,936.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,111,080. 2.00% of the stock is 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.