Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 144,416 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,378 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $22,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the third quarter worth approximately $248,000. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 78.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,102 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 3,558 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 211,043 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $43,279,000 after purchasing an additional 32,810 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 3rd quarter valued at about $435,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the third quarter valued at about $230,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH opened at $63.84 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $106.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 1.69.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. On average, analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MTH. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.25.

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.