T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Has $46.05 Million Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation by 23.9% in the 1st quarter, bringing its total to $46.05 million worth of stock.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Wellington Management Group LLP, significantly raised their stakes in Meritage Homes, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Meritage Homes announced a $0.43 quarterly dividend to be paid on September 30th, representing an annual yield of 2.1% and a low dividend payout ratio of 15.47%.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 23.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 649,617 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 125,299 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 0.90% of Meritage Homes worth $46,045,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MTH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 96.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,999,889 shares of the construction company's stock worth $567,032,000 after purchasing an additional 3,925,148 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 93.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,926,900 shares of the construction company's stock worth $207,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,024 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 94.1% in the 1st quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,434,368 shares of the construction company's stock worth $101,668,000 after purchasing an additional 695,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 102.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 985,239 shares of the construction company's stock worth $69,834,000 after purchasing an additional 499,063 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 6,950 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.01, for a total value of $556,069.50. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola bought 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $665,840. This represents a 30.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH stock opened at $80.1230 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12 month low of $59.27 and a 12 month high of $106.99. The firm has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.21 and a beta of 1.29. The company's 50-day moving average price is $70.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.75.

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

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MTH. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Meritage Homes to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.71.

About Meritage Homes

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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