Allianz Asset Management GmbH Cuts Stock Position in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lessened its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,953 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 16,893 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $4,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 182.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,880 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 123.0% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,607 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,099,000 after buying an additional 16,328 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,201,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes in the first quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 151.0% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,202 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $556,069.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 221,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,707,813.20. This trade represents a 3.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MTH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Meritage Homes from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wedbush reduced their target price on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.86.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of MTH opened at $71.58 on Friday. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-week high of $98.74. The company has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 10.27%.The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.47%.

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.