Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Sold by Balyasny Asset Management L.P.

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. trimmed its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 48.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 293,014 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 273,060 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.40% of Meritage Homes worth $45,071,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at about $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position 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 valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:MTH traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $68.22. 460,084 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 877,012. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $68.88 and a 200 day moving average of $79.08. Meritage Homes Co. has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.06 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. This is an increase from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MTH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. 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 research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $97.72.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $43,607.55. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,238,789.63. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes 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.