Bank of America Corp DE Purchases 44,801 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 319,722 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,801 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $49,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,293 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,758 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 3,219 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 5.0%

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $67.49 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-week high of $106.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 1.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $68.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.62.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.02). Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.06%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTH has been the topic of several research reports. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.72.

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.