Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH Shares Acquired by Centric Wealth Management

Key Points

• Centric Wealth Management increased its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation by 52.5%, owning 17,784 shares worth approximately $1,261,000 after acquiring an additional 6,120 shares in the first quarter.
• Meritage Homes reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing estimates, but experienced a 4.6% decline in quarterly revenue compared to the same period last year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43, reflecting a 2.2% dividend yield, with the payout date set for September 30th.

Centric Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 52.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,784 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,120 shares during the quarter. Centric Wealth Management's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 100.0% in 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. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 166.5% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 77.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 329.9% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 451 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MTH shares. Wedbush lowered their target price on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.71.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:MTH traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.75. 523,521 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 982,684. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The company has a fifty day moving average of $72.80 and a 200 day moving average of $69.86. The company has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.90 and a beta of 1.35. Meritage Homes Corporation has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 10.27%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.15 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.47%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, Director Dennis V. Arriola purchased 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $665,840. This trade represents a 30.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $556,069.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 221,320 shares in the company, valued at $17,707,813.20. This represents a 3.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

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 entry-level and first move-up buyers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah, Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.