Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) Position Lifted by Swiss National Bank

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank significantly increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 96.4% in the first quarter, now holding 140,200 shares valued at approximately $9.94 million.
• Several other investors have also increased their positions in Meritage Homes, leading to 98.44% of the stock being owned by institutional investors.
• Meritage Homes reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.04, surpassing analysts' expectations, but its revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 96.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 140,200 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 68,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.20% of Meritage Homes worth $9,937,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 166.5% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position 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 buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 329.9% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the construction company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 246.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the construction company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wedbush reduced 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 report on Friday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $87.71.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $77.03 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a PE ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 1.29. The company's 50-day moving average price is $69.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.80. Meritage Homes Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week high of $106.99. 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 (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. Meritage Homes's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.15 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.47%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dennis V. Arriola bought 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $665,840. This represents a 30.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Keough bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 41,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,758,872. This trade represents a 10.61% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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