Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH Shares Sold by Radnor Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Radnor Capital Management LLC significantly reduced its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation by 69.5%, selling 11,180 shares and now holding only 4,912 shares worth approximately $329,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Dimensional Fund Advisors LP, have increased their holdings in Meritage Homes, which indicates strong institutional interest in the company.
• Meritage Homes recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, representing a yield of 2.3%, with the payout ratio standing at 15.47%.

Radnor Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 69.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,912 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 11,180 shares during the period. Radnor Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MTH. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Meritage Homes by 166.5% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Meritage Homes by 77.7% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 329.9% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Meritage Homes by 246.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Meritage Homes stock traded down $1.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $75.29. The stock had a trading volume of 1,901,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 879,633. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $104.95.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $1.62 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.15 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.47%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $556,069.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 221,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,707,813.20. This trade represents a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola bought 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $665,840. This represents a 30.09% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MTH shares. Wedbush dropped their target price on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Meritage Homes from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.14.

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.