Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Raises Stake in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 128.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,922 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,553 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 0.08% of Meritage Homes worth $4,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 77.7% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 329.9% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 246.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, Director Joseph Keough bought 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $66.16 per share, with a total value of $264,640.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 41,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,758,872. This represents a 10.61% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 2.9%

Meritage Homes stock traded down $2.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $68.61. 701,346 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 882,289. The company has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.37. Meritage Homes Corporation has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $106.99. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $66.51 and a 200-day moving average of $72.04.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 11.50% and a return on equity of 14.28%. Meritage Homes's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.06 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Bank of America initiated 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 for the company. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $97.72.

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.