Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC Takes $273,000 Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,555 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised 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 valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 157.6% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at about $96,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.7 %

MTH traded up $1.08 on Thursday, hitting $155.64. The company had a trading volume of 189,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 511,078. The company has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 7.25 and a beta of 1.80. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $109.23 and a 12-month high of $189.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $171.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.65.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.54 by $1.52. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion during 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 20.27 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 13.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MTH shares. StockNews.com raised Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Meritage Homes from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $178.25.

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.