Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 21,285 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 177.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,287 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,285 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $2,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MTH. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,293 shares of the construction company's stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,758 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 3,219 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 41.7% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph Keough acquired 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,758,872. This trade represents a 10.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

MTH traded up $1.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $64.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 579,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 927,644. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $65.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.70. The firm has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 1.37. Meritage Homes Corporation has a one year low of $59.27 and a one year 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.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.02). Meritage Homes had a net margin of 11.50% and a return on equity of 14.28%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.06 earnings per share. Meritage Homes's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America started coverage on Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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 report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.