Millennium Management LLC Decreases Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Millennium Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 37.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 136,875 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 80,673 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.19% of Meritage Homes worth $21,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MTH. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,293 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,758 shares of the construction company's stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 3,219 shares of the construction company's stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE MTH traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $64.23. 536,392 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 884,992. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61. Meritage Homes Co. has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.02). Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.06 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTH has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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 research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.72.

Meritage Homes 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.