Greenhaven Associates Inc. Has $96.42 Million Stock Position in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Greenhaven Associates Inc. lifted its position in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,465,340 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 12,386 shares during the period. Meritage Homes comprises 1.6% of Greenhaven Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Greenhaven Associates Inc. owned 2.08% of Meritage Homes worth $96,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 134.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,658 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after acquiring an additional 22,162 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 51.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,937 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $917,000 after purchasing an additional 4,407 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 58.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,058,850 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $75,051,000 after purchasing an additional 391,297 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 111.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,971 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 17,343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 102.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 319,150 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,621,000 after purchasing an additional 161,806 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 2.5%

NYSE MTH opened at $58.68 on Friday. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.03 and a 52 week high of $84.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $72.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.28, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.46.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.12. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 7.73% and a return on equity of 9.28%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.72 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research cut Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group set a $95.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.33.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 32,820 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.49, for a total value of $2,510,401.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,917,154.61. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.24, for a total transaction of $272,939.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,935 shares in the company, valued at $3,425,844.40. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,622 shares of company stock valued at $3,640,273. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Profile

Meritage Homes Corporation is a national homebuilder and residential developer headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1985 as Winchester Homes and later rebranded to Meritage Homes, the company specializes in designing, constructing and selling single‐family detached and attached homes. With a focus on energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, Meritage Homes markets its properties under the GreenSmart program, which integrates high‐performance features aimed at reducing long‐term energy and water consumption for homebuyers.

The company’s core activities encompass land acquisition, residential community planning, home design, construction management and real estate sales.