LGT Group Foundation Acquires 1,643 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

LGT Group Foundation raised its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 9.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,595 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,643 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation owned 0.05% of Meritage Homes worth $3,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in Meritage Homes by 10.6% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 95,218 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $16,707,000 after acquiring an additional 9,128 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 140.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 10,482 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,826,000 after purchasing an additional 6,119 shares during the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,908,000. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 79,358 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $13,924,000 after purchasing an additional 4,435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 216,400 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $37,970,000 after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com cut Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Meritage Homes from $173.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Four research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.00.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $512,500.00. Following 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, 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 ninety days, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,111,080. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of MTH opened at $189.77 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $185.07 and a 200-day moving average of $172.79. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1 year low of $109.23 and a 1 year high of $210.58. The company has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.93.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $1.14. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.02 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 13.99%.

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.