Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 13,993 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 133,586 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 13,993 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $20,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 3,044.8% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 912 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $187,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MTH opened at $71.00 on Wednesday. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1 year low of $68.71 and a 1 year high of $106.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $74.51 and its 200-day moving average is $85.74. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 1.92.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MTH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.25.

About Meritage Homes

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.