Trillium Asset Management LLC Purchases 309 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Trillium Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,768 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 309 shares during the period. Trillium Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Meritage Homes worth $2,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 52.6% in the second quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 290 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 36.9% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 393 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Meritage Homes by 183.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 326 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.48% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 0.1 %

MTH traded down $0.16 during trading on Thursday, hitting $141.50. 23,876 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 383,275. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.33. The firm has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.55 and a beta of 1.69. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1 year low of $79.92 and a 1 year high of $152.55.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The construction company reported $5.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.10 by $0.88. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 12.40%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 19.45 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on Meritage Homes from $155.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.33.

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 first-time and first move-up buyers in Texas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee.