Cerity Partners LLC Invests $229,000 in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,315 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 3.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,170,062 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $510,374,000 after purchasing an additional 151,946 shares during the period. Greenhaven Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 826,791 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $144,027,000 after buying an additional 12,841 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 779,549 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $135,797,000 after buying an additional 143,440 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 9.8% during the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 689,600 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $84,400,000 after acquiring an additional 61,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $54,982,000 after acquiring an additional 118,818 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MTH. Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Zelman & Associates upgraded Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total transaction of $406,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,322,302.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.99, for a total value of $35,340.69. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,408.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total transaction of $406,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,322,302.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,998 shares of company stock valued at $635,171. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH stock opened at $169.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.90 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.82. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1-year low of $109.23 and a 1-year high of $179.68.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.54 by $1.52. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.54% and a return on equity of 17.63%. Analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 19.95 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.99%.

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.