Belpointe Asset Management LLC Grows Holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation by 161.5% in Q1, acquiring an additional 3,796 shares, bringing its total ownership to 6,146 shares valued at $436,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Dimensional Fund Advisors, also significantly increased their holdings in Meritage Homes during the same quarter, with institutional ownership now at 98.44% of the company’s stock.
• Meritage Homes announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.2%, scheduled for payment on September 30th.

Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 161.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,146 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 3,796 shares during the quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,439 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,144,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 154.0% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 59,236 shares of the construction company's stock worth $9,112,000 after acquiring an additional 35,918 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth $359,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 44.3% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,830 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,666,000 after acquiring an additional 3,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 51.0% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 24,466 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,763,000 after acquiring an additional 8,262 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Meritage Homes news, Director Dennis V. Arriola acquired 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 9,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $665,840. This trade represents a 30.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total transaction of $556,069.50. Following the completion of 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. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:MTH traded down $1.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.29. 1,901,441 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 879,633. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $74.99 and a 200 day moving average of $70.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 1.35. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12 month low of $59.27 and a 12 month high of $104.95.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.15 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 research firms have weighed in on MTH. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.14.

Meritage Homes 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.