Allianz Asset Management GmbH Sells 26,450 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lowered its position in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) by 40.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,503 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 26,450 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.05% of Meritage Homes worth $2,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter worth about $75,148,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 58.9% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,423,013 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $95,299,000 after buying an additional 527,265 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 3rd quarter worth $37,477,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 100.0% in the second quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 1,000,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $66,970,000 after acquiring an additional 500,000 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in 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 valued at $75,051,000 after acquiring an additional 391,297 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 0.7%

MTH opened at $77.96 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $71.25 and a 200 day moving average of $72.04. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12 month low of $59.27 and a 12 month high of $84.74.

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

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 17th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 27.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MTH. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 price target (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Meritage Homes from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Evercore set a $77.00 price target on Meritage Homes and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.63.

About Meritage Homes

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.