Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Sold by Earnest Partners LLC

Earnest Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 691,338 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 5,388 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned 0.96% of Meritage Homes worth $106,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% during 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Meritage Homes stock opened at $67.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $69.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.05. The company has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.69. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $59.27 and a 12-month high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.02). Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. On average, research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MTH. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.25.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $43,607.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

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.