Federated Hermes Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Federated Hermes Inc. cut its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 68.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,944 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 21,373 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MTH. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,817 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth about $76,297,000. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 96.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 40,352 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,029,000 after buying an additional 19,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 149,933 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,118,000 after buying an additional 56,468 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Meritage Homes from $173.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meritage Homes news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $512,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 44,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,136,850. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.35, for a total value of $2,003,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,084,793.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $512,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 44,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,136,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,111,080. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 4.8 %

Shares of MTH stock opened at $203.33 on Friday. Meritage Homes Co. has a twelve month low of $109.23 and a twelve month high of $213.98. The stock has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.48 and a beta of 1.81. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $191.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $1.14. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.02 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.99%.

Meritage Homes Profile

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.