Boston Partners Has $28.54 Million Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH)

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 raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 74.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 405,355 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 172,520 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned 0.56% of Meritage Homes worth $28,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,439 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 136.0% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,901 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 2,248 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 100.7% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,325 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,149,000 after acquiring an additional 15,218 shares during the period. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 151.0% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,202 shares of the construction company's stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, Director Dennis V. Arriola acquired 2,200 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $665,840. This represents a 30.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Keough purchased 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $66.16 per share, for a total transaction of $264,640.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 41,700 shares in the company, valued at $2,758,872. This represents a 10.61% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MTH traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $77.03. The company had a trading volume of 913,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,236,167. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $69.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 1.29. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $106.99.

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

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTH has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wedbush decreased their price target on Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.