Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) CAO Alison Sasser Sells 151 Shares

Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) CAO Alison Sasser sold 151 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.80, for a total transaction of $11,596.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $684,057.60. The trade was a 1.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

NYSE MTH traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $74.86. The company had a trading volume of 195,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,029,603. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.56. Meritage Homes Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week high of $84.74. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.48.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 22,162 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 4,407 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 391,297 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Meritage Homes by 111.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,971 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 17,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in 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 worth $22,621,000 after buying an additional 161,806 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Meritage Homes this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.48 (from $0.43), a $1.92 annualized payout (~2.6% yield) with an ex-dividend date of March 17 and pay date March 31 — adds income appeal and signals capital-return confidence. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results: MTH reported $1.67 EPS vs. $1.55 consensus (an EPS beat), which supports valuation; note revenue fell ~11.9% YoY to $1.44B (a weakness investors should watch). Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains constructive in places (e.g., Citi/UBS coverage and some buy/outperform ratings), keeping upside expectations above current trading levels. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Unrelated press release: a miner (Mithril) uses ticker “MTH” on ASX/TSXV — potential ticker-confusion in headlines but no business impact to Meritage. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Minor shifts reported in institutional holdings (small fund purchases and stake changes) — not material to ownership concentration (institutional ownership remains very high). Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Phillippe Lord sold 32,820 shares at ~$76.49 (~$2.51M), reducing his stake by ~11.2%; sizable insider sale that may create short-term selling pressure or investor caution. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 10,928 shares at ~$76.35 (~$834k), an ~8.0% reduction of her holdings — another senior-level sale. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,580 shares at ~$76.24 (~$273k), reducing his position by ~7.4%. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Other insiders (EVP Austin Woffinden and CAO Alison Sasser) executed small sales (~143 and 151 shares) at ~\$76.80 — minor but part of the cluster of insider selling. Read More. Read More.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 price target (up from $75.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Meritage Homes from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.63.

Meritage Homes Company 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.