Federated Hermes Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 31.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,591 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 3,978 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,321,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,293 shares of the construction company's stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Meritage Homes by 545.5% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,821 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,250 shares of the construction company's stock worth $500,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH traded up $2.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $65.13. 839,969 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 881,300. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.26. 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 $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 1.69. 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 (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. Equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is 13.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of 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 four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 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 transaction of $43,607.55. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,238,789.63. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $427,353.99. The trade was a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.