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

Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 16.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 319,722 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 44,801 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.44% of Meritage Homes worth $49,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MTH. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,293 shares of the construction company's stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,758 shares of the construction company's stock worth $578,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 3,219 shares of the construction company's stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE MTH traded down $0.20 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.67. 29,142 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 877,069. The company has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.98. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12 month low of $59.27 and a 12 month high of $106.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.06 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.72.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $427,353.99. The trade was a 10.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.