GAMMA Investing LLC Invests $96,000 in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 579 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $96,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,205,000. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 33,536 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,842,000 after purchasing an additional 13,538 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 48.4% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 25,235 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,396,000 after purchasing an additional 8,225 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 388.4% in the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 42,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,140,000 after buying an additional 33,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 38.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 52,029 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,368,000 after buying an additional 14,362 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.67.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Meritage Homes stock opened at $169.48 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $159.56 and its 200-day moving average is $153.42. The company has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.90 and a beta of 1.77. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12 month low of $109.23 and a 12 month high of $179.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.54 by $1.52. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.63% and a net margin of 12.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 19.95 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 13.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total transaction of $406,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,322,302.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total value of $406,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 100,266 shares in the company, valued at $16,322,302.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.99, for a total value of $35,340.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,408.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,998 shares of company stock valued at $635,171 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.