Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH Shares Sold by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB lessened its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 18.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 168,085 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 37,446 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.23% of Meritage Homes worth $11,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 96.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,999,889 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $567,032,000 after acquiring an additional 3,925,148 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 93.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,926,900 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $207,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,024 shares during the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 4.0% in the second quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,491,955 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $99,916,000 after purchasing an additional 57,587 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 95.7% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,352,648 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $95,876,000 after purchasing an additional 661,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Long Pond Capital LP increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 592.7% in the first quarter. Long Pond Capital LP now owns 1,125,995 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $79,811,000 after purchasing an additional 963,438 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $75.29 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 1.35. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12 month low of $59.27 and a 12 month high of $104.95. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $74.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.28.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.15 EPS. Meritage Homes's revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wedbush cut their price objective on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Meritage Homes from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.14.

Meritage Homes 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.

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