Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Sold by Earnest Partners LLC

Earnest Partners LLC lowered its position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 691,338 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 5,388 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned approximately 0.96% of Meritage Homes worth $106,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 314,323 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $48,349,000 after buying an additional 78,087 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 14,589 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,699 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $7,337,000 after purchasing an additional 4,397 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 84.6% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $43,607.55. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,238,789.63. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE:MTH traded up $1.76 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $68.71. 211,175 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 884,688. Meritage Homes Co. has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $106.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business has a 50-day moving average of $69.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.34. The company has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 1.69.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.02). Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.06 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTH has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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 report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $99.69.

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.