Barclays PLC Sells 9,245 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Barclays PLC lessened its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 201,798 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 9,245 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.28% of Meritage Homes worth $31,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at about $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 38.9% in the 4th 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 during the period. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 0.5 %

Meritage Homes stock traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $67.89. 541,766 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 885,735. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $59.27 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The firm has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a PE ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.57.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.02). Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. Research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is 13.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 5,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 30,547 shares of the company's stock, 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 sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective 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. Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lowered their price objective 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, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.