Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Has $563,000 Holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. increased its stock holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation by 128.1% in Q1, owning a total of 7,940 shares valued at approximately $563,000.
• Multiple analysts have provided mixed ratings for Meritage Homes, with price targets varying between $60.00 and $107.00, while its consensus price target stands at $87.71.
• Meritage Homes recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43, which equates to an annualized yield of 2.2%.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 128.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,940 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 4,459 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $563,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew 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 in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 166.5% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 329.9% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 246.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH traded down $2.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $74.77. The company had a trading volume of 1,355,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,231,485. The business has a fifty day moving average of $70.45 and a 200-day moving average of $69.74. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.72 and a beta of 1.29. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12 month low of $59.27 and a 12 month high of $106.99.

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

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.47%.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other news, Director Joseph Keough purchased 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.16 per share, with a total value of $264,640.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 41,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,758,872. This trade represents a 10.61% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola purchased 2,200 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,512 shares in the company, valued at $665,840. This trade represents a 30.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MTH shares. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.71.

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.