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

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 105.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 395,654 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 203,420 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.55% of Meritage Homes worth $28,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MTH. Keybank National Association OH bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $279,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,293 shares of the construction company's stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,218,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,531,000. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 188.5% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 19,281 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,966,000 after acquiring an additional 12,598 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH stock traded up $4.54 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $74.03. The company had a trading volume of 1,116,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 883,964. The company has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $66.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.96. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1-year low of $59.27 and a 1-year high of $106.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.28 and a quick ratio of 2.28.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 11.50% and a return on equity of 14.28%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.06 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is 14.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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, with a total value of $264,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 41,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,758,872. The trade was a 10.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

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.