Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 18,400 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $3,205,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.05% of Meritage Homes as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 339.8% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 431 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 108.3% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,337 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 695 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total transaction of $406,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 100,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,322,302.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 797 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.62, for a total transaction of $121,638.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $798,813.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total transaction of $406,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 100,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,322,302.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,998 shares of company stock worth $635,171. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH traded down $3.97 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $155.16. The stock had a trading volume of 260,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 408,575. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.04. Meritage Homes Co. has a one year low of $109.23 and a one year high of $179.68. The firm has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of 7.79 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The construction company reported $5.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.18 by $0.20. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 17.03%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 17.78 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Wedbush downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $155.00 to $148.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $172.67.

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.