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

Summit Global Investments decreased its position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 52.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,888 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 5,406 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,170,062 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $510,374,000 after purchasing an additional 151,946 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 779,549 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $135,797,000 after buying an additional 143,440 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 449,233 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $54,982,000 after acquiring an additional 118,818 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 101.2% in the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 124,404 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,216,000 after acquiring an additional 62,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 340,662 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,694,000 after acquiring an additional 62,549 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $177.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market cap of $6.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.26 and a beta of 1.75. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1-year low of $109.23 and a 1-year high of $183.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $161.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.12.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.54 by $1.52. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.63% and a net margin of 12.54%. Sell-side analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 20.41 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is presently 13.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meritage Homes news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total value of $406,975.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 100,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,322,302.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total value of $406,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,322,302.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 355 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.61, for a total value of $54,176.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 869 shares in the company, valued at $132,618.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,998 shares of company stock valued at $635,171 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on MTH shares. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.67.

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.