iSAM Funds UK Ltd Buys Shares of 6,705 Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,705 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,031,000. Meritage Homes accounts for 0.8% of iSAM Funds UK Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 314,323 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $48,349,000 after acquiring an additional 78,087 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 235.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 14,589 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,244,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,699 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $7,337,000 after acquiring an additional 4,397 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 84.6% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MTH shares. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $97.72.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MTH opened at $67.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $68.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.50. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.06 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is 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.

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