Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH Shares Acquired by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) by 17.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 305,475 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 44,975 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.43% of Meritage Homes worth $20,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 134.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,658 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after purchasing an additional 22,162 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 51.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,937 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 4,407 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 58.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,058,850 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $75,051,000 after purchasing an additional 391,297 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 111.0% in 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 increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 102.8% in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

NYSE:MTH opened at $63.03 on Tuesday. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.03 and a 12 month high of $84.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $69.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.50.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group set a $95.00 price target on Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on Meritage Homes in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Meritage Homes in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.24, for a total value of $272,939.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,935 shares in the company, valued at $3,425,844.40. This represents a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 10,928 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.35, for a total value of $834,352.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 124,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,540,772.35. This trade represents a 8.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 47,622 shares of company stock worth $3,640,273 over the last ninety days. 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.