UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Has $12.93 Million Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd reduced its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,712 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,058 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd owned 0.20% of Meritage Homes worth $12,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 205 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 157.6% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on MTH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Wedbush restated an “underperform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. 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 MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.80.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MTH traded up $4.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $197.71. The company had a trading volume of 470,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 424,185. Meritage Homes Co. has a one year low of $109.23 and a one year high of $205.20. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $171.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.94. 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 firm has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.22 and a beta of 1.80.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.54 by $1.52. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion for 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 20.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.99%.

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.