Northern Trust Corp Purchases 402,411 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its ownership in Meritage Homes Corporation by 84.6% in Q1, owning 878,089 shares valued at approximately $62.2 million.
• Meritage Homes has a current market cap of $5.50 billion and reported earnings per share of $2.04 for the last quarter, surpassing expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, representing a 2.2% yield, with the payout ratio at 15.47%.

Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 84.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 878,089 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 402,411 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.22% of Meritage Homes worth $62,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.0% during the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 221,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,707,813.20. The trade was a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola acquired 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 9,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $665,840. This represents 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 currently owned by insiders.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of MTH traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $77.69. 687,917 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 912,403. The company's fifty day moving average price is $72.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.82. The company has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.99 and a beta of 1.35. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $59.27 and a 12 month high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.15 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is presently 15.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wedbush reduced their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.71.

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.