Bayview Asset Management LLC Sells 3,247 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Bayview Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation by 45.5%, selling 3,247 shares and now holding 3,896 shares, making it the 19th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Several hedge funds have increased their positions in Meritage Homes, with Byrne Asset Management LLC notably raising its stake by 329.9% in the first quarter.
• Analysts' ratings for Meritage Homes vary, with one strong buy, four buys, and five holds, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.71.

Bayview Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 45.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,896 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 3,247 shares during the period. Meritage Homes makes up about 0.1% of Bayview Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Bayview Asset Management LLC's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 166.5% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of 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 increased its stake in shares of 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. increased its stake in shares of 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. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MTH traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $77.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 687,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 912,403. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.99 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $72.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.79. Meritage Homes Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 10.27%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.15 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.47%.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total transaction of $556,069.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 221,320 shares in the company, valued at $17,707,813.20. This trade represents a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola acquired 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 9,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $665,840. This trade represents a 30.09% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America began 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 stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wedbush reduced 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" 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.