Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH Shares Purchased by Boston Partners

Key Points

• Boston Partners has increased its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation by 74.1%, acquiring an additional 172,520 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 405,355 shares worth $28.54 million.
• Meritage Homes reported an EPS of $2.04 for its recent quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, and generated $1.62 billion in revenue, indicating a year-over-year revenue drop of 4.6%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, which offers a dividend yield of 2.2% and reflects a payout ratio of 15.47%.

Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 74.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 405,355 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 172,520 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned approximately 0.56% of Meritage Homes worth $28,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MTH. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 100.0% during the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 380 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 166.5% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 581 shares of the construction company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 77.7% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 606 shares of the construction company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 329.9% in the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the construction company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 246.4% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the construction company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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, with a total value of $264,640.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 41,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,758,872. The trade was a 10.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola acquired 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,512 shares in the company, valued at $665,840. This represents a 30.09% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

NYSE MTH traded down $2.48 on Wednesday, reaching $74.77. 1,355,824 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,231,485. The firm has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.72 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $70.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.74. Meritage Homes Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week high of $106.99. 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 (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.15 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered 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. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.71.

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.