Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Purchased by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 141.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,900 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 60,300 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.28% of Meritage Homes worth $16,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 157.6% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised 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. purchased a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in Meritage Homes during the second quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 16.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 676 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 44,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,136,850. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, 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 value of $595,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,307 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,837,936.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 owns 44,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,136,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $3,111,080 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of MTH opened at $203.33 on Friday. Meritage Homes Co. has a fifty-two week low of $109.23 and a fifty-two week high of $213.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $192.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.45. The company has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.48 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced 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. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.00.

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.