Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Sold by Woodline Partners LP

Woodline Partners LP trimmed its position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 58.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,866 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 41,772 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $4,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 211,043 shares of the construction company's stock worth $43,279,000 after buying an additional 32,810 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 12,002 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,846,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,821 shares of the construction company's stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,250 shares of the construction company's stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,603 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target 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. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $97.72.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of MTH traded up $1.62 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $65.84. 731,167 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 884,376. The company has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 1.50. Meritage Homes Co. has a fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week high of $106.99. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $67.59 and its 200-day moving average is $76.95.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. Meritage Homes's quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $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 fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.06%.

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.