Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Trims Stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board decreased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,900 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MTH. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Meritage Homes by 22.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 96.5% in 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 during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 140.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 10,482 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,826,000 after buying an additional 6,119 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 41.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 157.6% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on 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 upgraded Meritage Homes from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Meritage Homes from $173.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.00.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

NYSE MTH opened at $200.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.93. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1-year low of $109.23 and a 1-year high of $213.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.36 and a beta of 1.80. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $193.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.57.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.02 earnings per share. Meritage Homes’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.09 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other news, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.36, for a total value of $595,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,837,936.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was 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 owns 90,266 shares in the company, valued at $18,084,793.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $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 approximately $2,837,936.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have 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 company insiders.

Meritage Homes 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.