New York State Teachers Retirement System Acquires 48,975 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)

New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 99.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 98,150 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 48,975 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.14% of Meritage Homes worth $6,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,293 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,758 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 3,219 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 41.7% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the construction company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 2.9%

MTH traded down $2.02 during trading on Monday, hitting $68.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 701,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 882,289. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.37. Meritage Homes Corporation has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $106.99. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $66.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 11.50% and a return on equity of 14.28%. The business's revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.06 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued 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 dividend yield of 2.51%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph Keough bought 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.16 per share, with a total value of $264,640.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 41,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,758,872. This represents a 10.61% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MTH. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America began 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 for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.72.

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.