Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Purchases 151,834 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) by 105.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 296,250 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 151,834 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.41% of Meritage Homes worth $20,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 77.7% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 329.9% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 246.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, Director Joseph Keough bought 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 41,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,758,872. The trade was a 10.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $70.39 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $67.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.79. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12-month low of $59.27 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.37.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.02). Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 11.50%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.06 earnings per share. Meritage Homes’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 14.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.13.

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.