Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) Shares Bought by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 96.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,756 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 10,212 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 77.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 329.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 246.4% in 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 in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $96.13.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

MTH traded down $1.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $69.91. 924,613 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 887,586. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.71 and a beta of 1.37. 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's fifty day moving average price is $67.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.13. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-week high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 14.28% and a net margin of 11.50%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.06 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.06%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, Director Joseph Keough acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.