Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Raises Stock Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 32.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,546 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 11,558 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Meritage Homes worth $9,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in Meritage Homes by 2.5% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 718,607 shares of the construction company's stock worth $116,307,000 after acquiring an additional 17,843 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its position in Meritage Homes by 13.5% during the first quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 490,660 shares of the construction company's stock worth $86,091,000 after buying an additional 58,350 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 0.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 315,931 shares of the construction company's stock worth $51,133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,460 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 734.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 272,122 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $55,804,000 after buying an additional 239,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 5.0% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 227,300 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $36,789,000 after purchasing an additional 10,900 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of MTH traded down $2.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $182.84. The company had a trading volume of 332,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 245,173. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 1.93. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52-week low of $109.23 and a 52-week high of $213.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $196.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.56.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $1.14. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 12.98%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.02 EPS. Meritage Homes's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $512,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 44,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,136,850. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MTH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Meritage Homes from $173.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wedbush upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $160.00 to $195.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $213.83.

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.