LPL Financial LLC Purchases 3,687 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 56.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,265 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 3,687 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,579,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Meritage Homes by 70.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,677 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $65.13 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $70.77 and a 200 day moving average of $82.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 1.69. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12 month low of $59.27 and a 12 month high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS 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 issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MTH. StockNews.com cut Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the firm’s 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.