Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) by 96.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,999,889 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,925,148 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Meritage Homes worth $567,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes in the first quarter worth about $568,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 378.0% in the first quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 10,431 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 8,249 shares during the period. Connable Office Inc. raised its position in Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the first quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 5,924 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 2,962 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Meritage Homes by 128.4% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,490 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 3,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its position in Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 420,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,770,000 after acquiring an additional 210,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

NYSE MTH opened at $78.23 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $69.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of 7.04 and a beta of 1.29. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 10.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.15 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 15.47%.

Insider Activity

In other Meritage Homes news, Director Dennis V. Arriola bought 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 9,512 shares in the company, valued at $665,840. The trade was a 30.09% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Keough bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 41,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,758,872. This represents a 10.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTH has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Meritage Homes to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.13.

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.