Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 122.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,695 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 27,338 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp owned approximately 0.07% of Meritage Homes worth $3,522,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MTH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Meritage Homes by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 314,323 shares of the construction company's stock worth $48,349,000 after purchasing an additional 78,087 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 14,589 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,244,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,699 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $7,337,000 after acquiring an additional 4,397 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 84.6% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 1,378 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE MTH traded down $1.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $64.31. The stock had a trading volume of 812,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 880,012. The business's 50 day moving average is $66.12 and its 200-day moving average is $74.45. The company has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 1.37. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52 week low of $59.27 and a 52 week high of $106.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.06 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

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 given 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 yield of 2.67%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.06%.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MTH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $97.72.

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.