MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $12.31 Million Position in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation by 705%, owning 173,682 shares valued at approximately $12.3 million.
• Several institutional investors also adjusted their holdings in Meritage Homes, with most showing substantial increases in their investments during the first quarter.
• Meritage Homes announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43, yielding 2.2%, which will be paid to shareholders on September 30th.

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 705.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 173,682 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 152,106 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned about 0.24% of Meritage Homes worth $12,311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.0% during the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 166.5% during the first 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 first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 329.9% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the construction company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 246.4% during the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the construction company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of 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 reduced their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.71.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was bought at an average price of $66.16 per share, with a total value of $264,640.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 41,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,758,872. This represents a 10.61% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total transaction of $556,069.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 221,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,707,813.20. This trade 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 Trading Down 0.2%

Meritage Homes stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $77.69. The stock had a trading volume of 687,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 970,847. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $72.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.81. Meritage Homes Corporation has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $106.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.99 and a beta of 1.29.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.15 EPS. The company's revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.47%.

About Meritage Homes

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.