Comerica Bank Lowers Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Comerica Bank lessened its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 57.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,497 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 49,521 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank owned about 0.05% of Meritage Homes worth $5,614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth 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 period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased 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 buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTH has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America began coverage on Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.72.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of MTH stock traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $68.22. The stock had a trading volume of 460,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 878,270. The company has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.50. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.99.

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). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for 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 was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.06 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is 14.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547. Corporate 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.