32,224 Shares in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH Acquired by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 32,224 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $2,284,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 96.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,999,889 shares of the construction company's stock worth $567,032,000 after purchasing an additional 3,925,148 shares during the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 94.1% in the 1st quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,434,368 shares of the construction company's stock worth $101,668,000 after purchasing an additional 695,355 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 102.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 985,239 shares of the construction company's stock worth $69,834,000 after purchasing an additional 499,063 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 75.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 710,281 shares of the construction company's stock worth $50,345,000 after purchasing an additional 304,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 95.9% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 598,694 shares of the construction company's stock worth $42,435,000 after purchasing an additional 293,089 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $87.71.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of MTH stock opened at $77.03 on Monday. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $106.99. The stock has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a PE ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 1.29. The business's fifty day moving average is $69.84 and its 200-day moving average is $69.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 10.27%. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.15 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

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

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