BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Increases Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 18.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,560 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,342 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned approximately 0.31% of Meritage Homes worth $18,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 157.6% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 145 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. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 149.6% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 694 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Instrumental Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter valued at $169,000. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MTH traded up $1.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $198.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 310,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 422,514. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12 month low of $109.23 and a 12 month high of $210.58. The stock has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.93. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.90.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 12.98%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.02 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 20.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 13.99%.

Insider Activity

In other Meritage Homes news, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.36, for a total transaction of $595,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,837,936.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.35, for a total value of $2,003,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,084,793.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.36, for a total transaction 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 $2,837,936.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,111,080. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MTH shares. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Meritage Homes from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wolfe Research raised Meritage Homes from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Evercore ISI increased 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Meritage Homes from $173.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.00.

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.