Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 52,415 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,614,053 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 52,415 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 4.44% of Meritage Homes worth $261,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 17,318.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,916 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 1,905 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 28,451 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,817 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $419,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH opened at $204.35 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $189.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.42 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 1.81. Meritage Homes Co. has a one year low of $109.23 and a one year high of $210.58.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $1.14. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.02 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MTH. Evercore ISI lifted 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. 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. Wedbush raised their target price on Meritage Homes from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.00.

About Meritage Homes

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.