Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Has $64.43 Million Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 205.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 418,884 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 281,773 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.58% of Meritage Homes worth $64,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $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 buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.72.

Insider Activity

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 value of $48,692.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,238,789.63. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH stock opened at $68.22 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $68.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.89. Meritage Homes Co. has a one year low of $59.27 and a one year high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The business’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.06 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

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

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.