Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Sold by First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP

First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP lowered its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 32.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,500 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 8,500 shares during the period. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $2,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the construction company's stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MTH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $97.72.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH traded down $0.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $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 capitalization of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $68.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.89. 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 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during 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 firm's revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.06 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.43 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 2.52%. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is presently 14.06%.

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.