Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 16,328 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 123.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,607 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 16,328 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $2,099,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 14,589 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 405,854 shares of the construction company's stock worth $62,429,000 after buying an additional 3,219 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth approximately $583,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,218,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $97.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph Keough acquired 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 41,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,758,872. The trade was a 10.61% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 2.5%

NYSE MTH traded up $1.76 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $72.73. 503,271 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 876,070. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12 month low of $59.27 and a 12 month high of $106.99. The company has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.94 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.27.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.02). Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 11.50%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.06 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is currently 14.06%.

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.