Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH Shares Purchased by BOS Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• BOS Asset Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Meritage Homes, acquiring additional shares to bring its total ownership to 10,994 shares valued at approximately $779,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC and Nisa Investment Advisors LLC, also boosted their holdings in Meritage Homes, indicating strong interest from the investment community.
• Analysts have varied opinions on the stock, with price targets ranging from $60.00 to $100.00, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" based on recent performance and earnings results.

BOS Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 129.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,994 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,211 shares during the period. BOS Asset Management LLC's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $779,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 161.5% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 6,146 shares of the construction company's stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 3,796 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 128.5% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 66,627 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,723,000 after acquiring an additional 37,464 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 102.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 319,150 shares of the construction company's stock worth $22,621,000 after acquiring an additional 161,806 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 579.8% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 203,023 shares of the construction company's stock worth $14,390,000 after acquiring an additional 173,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 1st quarter worth $1,170,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MTH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.71.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 221,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,707,813.20. This represents a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola bought 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $665,840. The trade was a 30.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of MTH stock traded down $2.21 on Friday, hitting $78.85. 706,607 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 894,387. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $74.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.20. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 1.35. Meritage Homes Corporation has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.15 EPS. The company's revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 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.