Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) CAO Sells $19,055.40 in Stock

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) CAO Alison Sasser sold 260 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $19,055.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $305,326.14. This trade represents a 5.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MTH stock opened at $73.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.88. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $72.19 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $81.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.78.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. Research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is presently 11.47%.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 53.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 15.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MTH. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Company 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.