Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) Shares Acquired by Security National Bank

Security National Bank raised its position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 108.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 123,500 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 64,250 shares during the period. Meritage Homes makes up about 1.7% of Security National Bank's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Security National Bank owned approximately 0.17% of Meritage Homes worth $8,754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 77.7% in the first 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. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 329.9% in the first 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. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, Director Joseph Keough acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were acquired 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 now directly owns 41,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,758,872. The trade was a 10.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

MTH stock traded up $0.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $66.97. 1,023,614 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 875,366. The firm has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a PE ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 1.37. 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 Corporation has a 1-year low of $59.27 and a 1-year high of $106.99. The company's fifty day moving average price is $66.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.63.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $1.36 billion for 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%. Meritage Homes's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.06 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTH has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $97.72.

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.