Janus Henderson Group PLC Sells 15,688 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Janus Henderson Group PLC cut its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 110,559 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 15,688 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 0.15% of Meritage Homes worth $17,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of MTH traded down $1.23 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $67.80. 553,512 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 880,443. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52 week low of $59.27 and a 52 week high of $106.99. The company has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.15. 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 (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.06 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors 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. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is 14.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MTH. StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, April 25th. 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $97.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the company'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 value of $48,692.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

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.