Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) Shares Bought by LGT Group Foundation

Key Points

• LGT Group Foundation increased its position in Meritage Homes shares by 89.5% in the first quarter, now owning approximately 36,829 shares valued at $2.61 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Meritage Homes, with price targets ranging from $60 to $107 and an average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Meritage Homes declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.3%.

LGT Group Foundation raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 89.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,829 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 17,397 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation owned about 0.05% of Meritage Homes worth $2,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 96.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,999,889 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $567,032,000 after buying an additional 3,925,148 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 94.1% during the first quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,434,368 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $101,668,000 after buying an additional 695,355 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 102.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 985,239 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $69,834,000 after buying an additional 499,063 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 75.0% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 710,281 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $50,345,000 after buying an additional 304,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 95.9% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 598,694 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $42,435,000 after buying an additional 293,089 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, Director Joseph Keough bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 41,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,758,872. This trade represents a 10.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola bought 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were acquired 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 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. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. 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. Wedbush reduced their target price 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. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $87.71.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:MTH traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $77.03. The company had a trading volume of 913,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,236,722. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $69.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 1.29. Meritage Homes Corporation has a one year low of $59.27 and a one year high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.15 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm 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 was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Meritage Homes's 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.