MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Acquires 803 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,439 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 803 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $3,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,293 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 545.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,758 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 3,219 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Meritage Homes stock opened at $67.80 on Tuesday. Meritage Homes Co. has a one year low of $59.27 and a one year high of $106.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $68.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.98. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.50.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted 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). Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.06 earnings per share. Meritage Homes’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MTH. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.72.

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.