Great Lakes Advisors LLC Has $5.13 Million Holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC significantly increased its stake in Meritage Homes by acquiring an additional 68,592 shares, bringing its total to 72,421 shares, which represent approximately 0.10% of the company valued at $5.13 million.
• Meritage Homes announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.2%, set to be paid on September 30th.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a profit of $2.04 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, despite a 4.6% year-over-year revenue decline.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 1,791.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,421 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 68,592 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Meritage Homes worth $5,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 155,725 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $23,954,000 after purchasing an additional 22,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 319,722 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $49,180,000 after purchasing an additional 44,801 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 2,452 shares of the construction company's stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 813 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,439 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,144,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 154.0% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 59,236 shares of the construction company's stock worth $9,112,000 after purchasing an additional 35,918 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $556,069.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 221,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,707,813.20. This trade represents a 3.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola acquired 2,200 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,512 shares in the company, valued at $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 subject of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush reduced their price objective on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI upped 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. Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.71.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 2.7%

MTH stock traded down $2.21 during trading on Friday, reaching $78.85. The stock had a trading volume of 706,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 894,387. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1-year low of $59.27 and a 1-year high of $106.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $74.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.23.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.15 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 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 presently 15.47%.

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.