Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 48.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 153,897 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,459 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 0.42% of Meritage Homes worth $27,003,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MTH. Blackstone Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 216.7% in the 1st quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 190,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,337,000 after buying an additional 130,000 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP raised its position in Meritage Homes by 97.2% during the first quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 10,379 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,821,000 after purchasing an additional 5,117 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in Meritage Homes by 17.9% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 9,136 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385 shares in the last quarter. Long Pond Capital LP bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the first quarter worth about $32,303,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 1st quarter worth about $2,359,000. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:MTH traded up $1.36 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $203.44. 324,746 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 429,700. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 1.80. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12 month low of $109.23 and a 12 month high of $205.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.93. The company has a fifty day moving average of $172.46 and a 200 day moving average of $166.64.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $1.14. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.02 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 20.36 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MTH. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Louis E. Caldera 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Louis E. Caldera 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.36, for a total value of $595,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,307 shares in the company, valued at $2,837,936.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.