Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Has $215,000 Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board cut its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 91.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,400 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 15,300 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth approximately $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 38.9% in 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 during the period. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $68.16. 113,539 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 883,520. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.56. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $59.27 and a 1-year high of $106.99. The company has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.69.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.06 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.52%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $103.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $48,692.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. Insiders own 2.20% 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.