Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) CAO Alison Sasser Sells 260 Shares of Stock

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) CAO Alison Sasser sold 260 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 value of $19,055.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $305,326.14. This trade represents a 5.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 0.3 %

MTH opened at $73.50 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61. Meritage Homes Co. has a one year low of $72.19 and a one year high of $106.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 1.88.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. Analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 10.02 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James cut Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Meritage Homes by 53.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in Meritage Homes by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

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.