Swedbank AB Boosts Stock Position in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Swedbank AB significantly increased its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation by 85.6%, acquiring an additional 94,800 shares which brings their total ownership to 205,531 shares valued at approximately $14.57 million.
• Meritage Homes has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43, with the payout ratio standing at 15.47% and a dividend yield of 2.2% for shareholders on record as of September 16.
• The company's stock is currently down 2.7%, with recent earnings showing a slight decline in quarterly revenue despite exceeding earnings per share estimates.

Swedbank AB raised its position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 85.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 205,531 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 94,800 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned about 0.29% of Meritage Homes worth $14,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 166.5% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 77.7% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 329.9% in the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 246.4% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, Director Dennis V. Arriola acquired 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 9,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $665,840. This trade represents a 30.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $556,069.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

NYSE MTH traded down $1.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $75.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,901,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 879,633. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $74.99 and a 200 day moving average of $70.36. Meritage Homes Corporation has a one year low of $59.27 and a one year high of $104.95.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 10.27%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.15 EPS. Analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MTH. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wedbush decreased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.14.

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.