Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Takes Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 46,491 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $7,151,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.06% of Meritage Homes as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,074,741 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $626,777,000 after purchasing an additional 26,889 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $101,695,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 61.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 571,120 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $87,850,000 after buying an additional 217,618 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,910,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 475,678 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $73,169,000 after buying an additional 21,123 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MTH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $97.72.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE MTH traded up $1.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.60. 919,062 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 890,064. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $66.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.85. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-week high of $106.99. The company has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.50. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 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 company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.06 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.06%.

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.