Clearbridge Investments LLC Reduces Holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 168,748 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 12,964 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.24% of Meritage Homes worth $11,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 44.3% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,987,850 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $143,980,000 after acquiring an additional 609,866 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 1,465,340 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $96,419,000 after acquiring an additional 12,386 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 58.9% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,423,013 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $95,299,000 after acquiring an additional 527,265 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 58.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at $63,053,000. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH stock opened at $70.53 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $65.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.89. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 12-month low of $58.03 and a 12-month high of $84.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.39.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.12). Meritage Homes had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.69 EPS. Meritage Homes’s revenue was down 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total value of $79,066.03. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,147.74. This trade represents a 14.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MTH. UBS Group set a $86.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on Meritage Homes and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Meritage Homes from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.89.

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.