3,119 Shares in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Bought by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,119 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,293 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,758 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 3,219 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 3.1%

NYSE:MTH opened at $65.63 on Thursday. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $106.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $66.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.02. The stock has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.02). Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.06 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MTH. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.72.

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.