Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Bought by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 270.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,312 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,610 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 235.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MTH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $48,692.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 in the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

NYSE MTH opened at $68.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Meritage Homes Co. has a fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week high of $106.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $68.88 and a 200-day moving average of $78.99. The stock has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.50.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. Meritage Homes’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.06 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 14.06%.

Meritage Homes 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.