Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH Shares Purchased by Voya Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation by 82.2% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 9,829 shares and bringing its total holdings to 21,782 shares valued at approximately $1.54 million.
• Meritage Homes recently reported a $2.04 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenues totaling $1.62 billion, but reflecting a 4.6% decline year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, which will be paid on September 30th, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.4%.

Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 82.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,782 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,829 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,439 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 136.0% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,901 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 2,248 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.7% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,325 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,149,000 after purchasing an additional 15,218 shares in the last quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 182.0% in the 1st quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 1,255 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 151.0% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,202 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MTH opened at $73.17 on Tuesday. Meritage Homes Corporation has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $103.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.25.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during 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 firm's revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.15 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total transaction of $556,069.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 221,320 shares in the company, valued at $17,707,813.20. This represents a 3.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola acquired 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were bought 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 owned 9,512 shares in the company, valued at $665,840. The trade was a 30.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MTH. Bank of America upped their target price on Meritage Homes from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their price target on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.14.

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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