American Century Companies Inc. Buys 416,919 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 138.9% in the first quarter, owning approximately $50.82 million worth of shares.
• A diverse range of institutional investors have also modified their positions in Meritage Homes, with ownership among institutions currently at 98.44%.
• Meritage Homes recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, reflecting a yield of 2.2% and a payout ratio of 15.47%.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 138.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 716,998 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 416,919 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 1.00% of Meritage Homes worth $50,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 166.5% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 77.7% during the first 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 period. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 329.9% during the first 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 period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 246.4% during the first 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 period. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MTH shares. Bank of America started coverage on Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wedbush lowered their price objective on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.71.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 7.0%

NYSE:MTH traded up $5.2330 on Friday, hitting $80.1230. 2,077,030 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,119,729. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.21 and a beta of 1.29. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 52 week low of $59.27 and a 52 week high of $106.99. The company's 50-day moving average price is $70.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.75. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 10.27%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is presently 15.47%.

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.