Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Grows Holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 105.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm 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 reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,074,741 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $626,777,000 after acquiring an additional 26,889 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 94.1% in the first quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,434,368 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $101,668,000 after acquiring an additional 695,355 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 75.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 710,281 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $50,345,000 after acquiring an additional 304,427 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $101,695,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 61.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 571,120 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $87,850,000 after acquiring an additional 217,618 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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. UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $96.13.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, Director Joseph Keough bought 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 41,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,758,872. This trade represents a 10.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of Meritage Homes stock traded up $0.64 during trading on Thursday, reaching $71.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 980,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 891,583. The company has a current ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 1.37. The company 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 fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 11.50% and a return on equity of 14.28%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.06 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders 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 2.42%. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is currently 14.06%.

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.