Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Sold by Moran Wealth Management LLC

Moran Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 46,207 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 651 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $7,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MTH. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 2,199.9% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 305,605 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,008,000 after acquiring an additional 292,317 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth $43,147,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 3rd quarter worth $44,029,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 3rd quarter worth $36,365,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 75.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 347,227 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $71,206,000 after acquiring an additional 148,898 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,238,789.63. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of Meritage Homes 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 owns 5,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547 over the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on MTH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH opened at $74.99 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a 50-day moving average of $79.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.70. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $69.26 and a 12-month high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. As a group, research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

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.