Wellington Management Group LLP Buys 788,323 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP acquired an additional 788,323 shares of Meritage Homes, increasing its holdings by 278.1% to a total of 1,071,802 shares, worth approximately $75.97 million.
• Dividend Announcement: Meritage Homes declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, payable on September 30th, representing an annualized yield of 2.1%.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Dimensional Fund Advisors, significantly increased their positions in Meritage Homes during the first quarter of the year.

Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 278.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,071,802 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 788,323 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 1.49% of Meritage Homes worth $75,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 5.8% in 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 during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 136.0% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,901 shares of the construction company's stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 2,248 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.7% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,325 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,149,000 after buying an additional 15,218 shares in the last quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 182.0% in the first quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 1,255 shares of the construction company's stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 151.0% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,202 shares of the construction company's stock worth $440,000 after buying an additional 3,731 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.4%

MTH stock traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $77.50. 270,646 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 989,493. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. Meritage Homes Corporation has a one year low of $59.27 and a one year high of $106.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a PE ratio of 6.97 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $71.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.74.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.15 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is 15.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other news, Director Joseph Keough acquired 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 41,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,758,872. The trade was a 10.61% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total transaction of $556,069.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 221,320 shares in the company, valued at $17,707,813.20. This trade represents a 3.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

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.