Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Sold by Summit Global Investments

Summit Global Investments trimmed its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 56.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,305 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 4,200 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,773,609 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $363,714,000 after acquiring an additional 74,422 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 1.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 489,035 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $100,286,000 after purchasing an additional 5,732 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Meritage Homes by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 405,854 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $62,429,000 after buying an additional 3,219 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 75.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 347,227 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $71,206,000 after buying an additional 148,898 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Meritage Homes by 2,199.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 305,605 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,008,000 after buying an additional 292,317 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Meritage Homes news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $43,607.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $48,692.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547 over the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Meritage Homes stock opened at $73.37 on Tuesday. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.79. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52 week low of $68.93 and a 52 week high of $106.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.92.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

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.