4,790 Shares in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH Bought by United Services Automobile Association

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association made a new investment of $337,000 in Meritage Homes Corporation by purchasing 4,790 shares in the first quarter.
• Meritage Homes recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, which represents a 2.1% yield based on an annualized payout of $1.72.
• Research analysts have mixed ratings for Meritage Homes, with an average price target of $87.71 and a consensus rating classified as "Moderate Buy."

United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,790 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $337,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 155,725 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $23,954,000 after buying an additional 22,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 319,722 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $49,180,000 after buying an additional 44,801 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 49.6% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 2,452 shares of the construction company's stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 813 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,439 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,144,000 after buying an additional 803 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 154.0% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 59,236 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $9,112,000 after purchasing an additional 35,918 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $556,069.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 221,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,707,813.20. This trade represents a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola purchased 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,512 shares in the company, valued at $665,840. This represents a 30.09% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MTH traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.41. 210,835 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 976,107. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.88 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The business's 50-day moving average price is $74.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.26. 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 posted 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. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.15 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 2.3%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MTH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wedbush reduced their target price on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.71.

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.