Greenhaven Associates Inc. Purchases 57,587 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Greenhaven Associates Inc. increased its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation by 4.0%, acquiring an additional 57,587 shares, making the company its 12th largest holding.
• Several institutional investors have significantly boosted their stakes in Meritage Homes, with Vanguard Group increasing its position by 96.3% to own nearly 8 million shares.
• Meritage Homes recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.72, with a dividend yield of 2.2%.

Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,491,955 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 57,587 shares during the quarter. Meritage Homes accounts for approximately 1.5% of Greenhaven Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Greenhaven Associates Inc. owned 2.08% of Meritage Homes worth $99,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 96.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,999,889 shares of the construction company's stock worth $567,032,000 after buying an additional 3,925,148 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 93.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,926,900 shares of the construction company's stock worth $207,456,000 after buying an additional 1,417,024 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 95.7% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,352,648 shares of the construction company's stock worth $95,876,000 after buying an additional 661,310 shares in the last quarter. Long Pond Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 592.7% in the 1st quarter. Long Pond Capital LP now owns 1,125,995 shares of the construction company's stock worth $79,811,000 after purchasing an additional 963,438 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 278.1% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,071,802 shares of the construction company's stock worth $75,969,000 after purchasing an additional 788,323 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MTH shares. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wedbush lowered their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $103.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meritage Homes has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other news, Director Dennis V. Arriola purchased 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 9,512 shares in the company, valued at $665,840. This trade represents a 30.09% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 221,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,707,813.20. The trade was a 3.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of MTH stock opened at $78.85 on Monday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $74.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $106.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 1.35.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.15 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.47%.

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.

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