Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Boosts Stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 270.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,312 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring 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 institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 545.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at about $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $173,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.72.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. The trade was a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Meritage Homes stock 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 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-week high of $106.99. The company has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $68.88 and a 200 day moving average of $78.99.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is presently 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.