Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Stock Position Boosted by Evergreen Capital Management LLC

Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 30.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,461 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 817 shares during the quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 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 worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 96.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 40,352 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,029,000 after buying an additional 19,813 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 140.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 10,482 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,826,000 after acquiring an additional 6,119 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in Meritage Homes by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 6,180 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,051,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 157.6% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Raymond James upped their price target on Meritage Homes from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wedbush raised their price objective on Meritage Homes from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Meritage Homes from $173.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,084,793.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 $18,084,793.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.36, for a total value of $595,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,837,936.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $3,111,080. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $200.45 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $193.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.40. The company has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.35 and a beta of 1.80. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $109.23 and a 12-month high of $213.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

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

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.99%.

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.