Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $28.04 Million Position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 105.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 395,654 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 203,420 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.55% of Meritage Homes worth $28,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Keybank National Association OH bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth about $279,000. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth about $3,218,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,531,000. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 188.5% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 19,281 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,966,000 after purchasing an additional 12,598 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE:MTH traded down $1.65 on Friday, hitting $73.71. 1,112,958 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 889,085. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 2.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 1.37. The company's 50-day moving average price is $66.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.89. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 52 week low of $59.27 and a 52 week high of $106.99.

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

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph Keough acquired 4,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 41,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,758,872. The trade was a 10.61% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $97.72.

About Meritage Homes

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.