Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Raises Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 18.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,697 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,796 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $6,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MTH. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 523,332 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $91,164,000 after buying an additional 26,682 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 490,660 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $86,091,000 after acquiring an additional 58,350 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,297,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 260,541 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $45,386,000 after purchasing an additional 33,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in Meritage Homes by 45.9% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 247,228 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $43,067,000 after purchasing an additional 77,801 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.35, for a total transaction of $2,003,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,084,793.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.35, for a total value of $2,003,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,084,793.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $512,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,136,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,111,080 over the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE MTH opened at $191.73 on Thursday. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52 week low of $109.23 and a 52 week high of $210.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $186.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a PE ratio of 8.94 and a beta of 1.81.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $1.14. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.02 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 13.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James raised their price target on Meritage Homes from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.00.

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.