Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys 42,966 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation by 101.2%, acquiring an additional 42,966 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 85,426 shares worth $6.05 million.
• Multiple institutional investors significantly boosted their stakes in Meritage, with Vanguard Group Inc. increasing its position by 96.3%, now owning nearly 8 million shares valued at $567 million.
• Meritage Homes announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, presenting an annualized yield of 2.2% for shareholders of record on September 16th.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 101.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 85,426 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 42,966 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Meritage Homes worth $6,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Meritage Homes Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of NYSE:MTH traded down $3.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $78.94. The stock had a trading volume of 117,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 982,159. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12 month low of $59.27 and a 12 month high of $106.99. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $73.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.03. The company has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.12 and a beta of 1.35.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.15 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.47%.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other news, Director Joseph Keough bought 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.16 per share, with a total value of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 41,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,758,872. This represents a 10.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of Meritage Homes 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 221,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,707,813.20. This trade represents a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MTH. Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. 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. decreased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Meritage Homes currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.71.

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.