Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $2.33 Million Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,362 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 180 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $2,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,170,062 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $510,374,000 after buying an additional 151,946 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 779,549 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $135,797,000 after acquiring an additional 143,440 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 449,233 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $54,982,000 after purchasing an additional 118,818 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 101.2% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 124,404 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,216,000 after purchasing an additional 62,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its position in Meritage Homes by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 340,662 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,694,000 after purchasing an additional 62,549 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Meritage Homes from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $178.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH stock traded up $0.30 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $180.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 98,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 414,058. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52 week low of $109.23 and a 52 week high of $183.78. The company has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a PE ratio of 8.38 and a beta of 1.75. The business has a fifty day moving average of $162.18 and a 200-day moving average of $156.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.54 by $1.52. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.54% and a return on equity of 17.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 20.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.61, for a total transaction of $54,176.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 869 shares in the company, valued at $132,618.09. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.61, for a total value of $54,176.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $132,618.09. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 797 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.62, for a total transaction of $121,638.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $798,813.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,998 shares of company stock valued at $635,171. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.