Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 95.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 598,694 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 293,089 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.83% of Meritage Homes worth $42,435,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 136.0% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,901 shares of the construction company's stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 2,248 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 151.0% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,202 shares of the construction company's stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 5.8% during the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,439 shares of the construction company's stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 182.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,880 shares of the construction company's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 94.4% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 20,623 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 10,012 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, Director Joseph Keough acquired 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the director directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 8.3%

Shares of Meritage Homes stock traded up $5.83 on Tuesday, reaching $75.78. The company had a trading volume of 646,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 885,372. The firm has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.28 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $67.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.56. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 11.50%. Meritage Homes's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.06 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America started coverage on Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $96.13.

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.