Deutsche Bank AG Grows Stake in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation by **32.7%** during the first quarter, now holding 108,971 shares valued at approximately $7.72 million.
• Institutional investor ownership of Meritage Homes is high, with **98.44%** of the stock held by institutions, including significant stakes from Vanguard Group and Charles Schwab Investment Management.
• Meritage Homes reported a **4.6% decline** in quarterly revenue year-over-year, with a net margin of **10.27%** and earnings per share (EPS) of **$2.04**, surpassing analyst expectations of $1.99.

Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 32.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 108,971 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,843 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.15% of Meritage Homes worth $7,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MTH. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 166.5% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings 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 worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Meritage Homes by 246.4% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the construction company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $87.71.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE MTH traded up $0.03 on Friday, reaching $77.03. The stock had a trading volume of 913,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,236,167. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $69.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.66. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12-month low of $59.27 and a 12-month high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.15 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.