3,623 Shares in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Purchased by Level Four Advisory Services LLC

Level Four Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,623 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $423,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MTH. Capital CS Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the first quarter valued at approximately $445,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 1st quarter worth about $1,878,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Meritage Homes by 2.7% during the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,596 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes during the first quarter worth about $1,227,000. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth about $4,459,000. Institutional investors own 99.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MTH shares. Seaport Res Ptn reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Wednesday, June 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on Meritage Homes from $155.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Meritage Homes from $137.00 to $141.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Wednesday, May 31st. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.33.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $128.92 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $140.30 and a 200 day moving average of $128.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.65. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12 month low of $65.40 and a 12 month high of $152.55.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The construction company reported $5.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $1.53. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 21.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.77 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 19.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 4.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $72,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,547 shares in the company, valued at $982,050. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 481 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $72,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $982,050. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 1,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.03, for a total transaction of $201,190.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,421,851.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,831 shares of company stock worth $721,841. 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 first-time and first move-up buyers in Texas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee.