Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) is GRS Advisors LLC's 6th Largest Position

GRS Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 225.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 326,620 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 226,277 shares during the quarter. Meritage Homes makes up approximately 5.0% of GRS Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. GRS Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.45% of Meritage Homes worth $50,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $173,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.72.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of Meritage Homes stock traded up $0.65 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.50. 45,784 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 875,278. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $106.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 1.50.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.06 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $43,607.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

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.