Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Position Increased by Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 204.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,378 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 8,985 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $2,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Meritage Homes by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 523,332 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $91,164,000 after acquiring an additional 26,682 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 13.5% in the first quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 490,660 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $86,091,000 after buying an additional 58,350 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 460,118 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $80,153,000 after buying an additional 10,885 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $76,297,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Meritage Homes by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 260,541 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,386,000 after acquiring an additional 33,382 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

MTH stock traded down $7.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $175.71. 207,916 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 429,025. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Meritage Homes Co. has a twelve month low of $109.23 and a twelve month high of $210.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.44 and a beta of 1.80.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $1.14. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.99%. Meritage Homes’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.02 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 20.83 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is presently 13.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MTH. StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Raymond James upped their price target on Meritage Homes from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Meritage Homes from $173.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.36, for a total value of $595,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,837,936.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Louis E. Caldera 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,000 shares of the business’s 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 owns 14,307 shares in the company, valued at $2,837,936.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,111,080. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

About Meritage Homes

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.