Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Cuts Stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp decreased its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,455 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 382 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,074,741 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $626,777,000 after acquiring an additional 26,889 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,773,609 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $363,714,000 after purchasing an additional 74,422 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 0.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,219 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 75.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 347,227 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $71,206,000 after buying an additional 148,898 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 292,317 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $71.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 1.92. Meritage Homes Co. has a fifty-two week low of $68.71 and a fifty-two week high of $106.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its 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 return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $98.50 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.