AIA Group Ltd Buys New Stake in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)

Key Points

• AIA Group Ltd has acquired a new position in Meritage Homes Corporation, purchasing 9,371 shares valued at approximately $664,000.
• In the first quarter, several institutional investors increased their stakes, with notable purchases including Nuveen LLC's $15.4 million investment and Invesco's significant 99.9% increase in holdings.
• Meritage Homes reported quarterly earnings of $2.04 EPS, exceeding analyst expectations, although revenue decreased by 4.6% year-over-year.

AIA Group Ltd acquired a new position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,371 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $664,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 3,925,148 shares during the period. Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 695,355 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 499,063 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position 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 buying an additional 304,427 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 293,089 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH traded up $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $77.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 913,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,236,722. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12 month low of $59.27 and a 12 month high of $106.99. The firm has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day moving average of $69.84 and a 200-day moving average of $69.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

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

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dennis V. Arriola acquired 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,512 shares in the company, valued at $665,840. This represents a 30.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph Keough acquired 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.16 per share, with a total value of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wedbush cut their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $87.71.

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.