Teacher Retirement System of Texas Raises Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 97.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,802 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,747 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $3,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth about $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 3,044.8% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 912 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $98.50 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547 in the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH opened at $73.37 on Tuesday. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1 year low of $68.93 and a 1 year high of $106.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

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.