Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Cuts Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,362 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 180 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $2,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,170,062 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $510,374,000 after acquiring an additional 151,946 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 779,549 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $135,797,000 after acquiring an additional 143,440 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 449,233 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $54,982,000 after buying an additional 118,818 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 101.2% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 124,404 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,216,000 after purchasing an additional 62,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 340,662 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,694,000 after buying an additional 62,549 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

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

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of MTH traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $180.88. 98,880 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 414,058. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $162.18 and a 200-day moving average of $156.37. The stock has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.38 and a beta of 1.75. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1-year low of $109.23 and a 1-year high of $183.78.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.54 by $1.52. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.63% and a net margin of 12.54%. Analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 20.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 13.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MTH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $178.25.

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.