Woodline Partners LP Increases Stake in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP significantly increased its stake in Meritage Homes, raising its holdings by 579.8% to 203,023 shares valued at approximately $14.39 million.
• Meritage Homes recently announced a $0.43 quarterly dividend, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.2% and a payout ratio of 15.47%.
• Several analysts have updated their price targets for Meritage Homes, with conclusions ranging from a "Strong Buy" to "Market Perform," resulting in a consensus target price of $87.71.

Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 579.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 203,023 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 173,157 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP owned approximately 0.28% of Meritage Homes worth $14,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 155,725 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $23,954,000 after purchasing an additional 22,000 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 319,722 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $49,180,000 after buying an additional 44,801 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 49.6% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 2,452 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,439 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,144,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 154.0% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 59,236 shares of the construction company's stock worth $9,112,000 after acquiring an additional 35,918 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI increased their price target 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. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wedbush decreased 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MTH traded down $2.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $78.85. 706,607 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 894,387. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12-month low of $59.27 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 1.35. The business's fifty day moving average price is $74.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.20.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.15 earnings per share. Meritage Homes's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio 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.