Wealthfront Advisers LLC Buys New Shares in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 41,741 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,421,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC owned 0.06% of Meritage Homes as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MTH. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 53.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at about $92,000. 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 purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Archer Investment Corp raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 42.1% during the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 675 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTH has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective 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 upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of MTH stock opened at $72.18 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $77.76 and a 200-day moving average of $88.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $69.26 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The firm has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 1.92.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.16%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $48,692.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.00% 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.