Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 10,503 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC cut its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 16.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,736 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 10,503 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Meritage Homes worth $9,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MTH. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Meritage Homes by 339.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 431 shares of the construction company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in Meritage Homes by 108.3% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,337 shares of the construction company's stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of MTH traded down $2.09 on Wednesday, reaching $150.00. The stock had a trading volume of 337,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 405,384. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.63 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.25. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $109.23 and a 12-month high of $179.68.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The construction company reported $5.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.18 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.52 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.03% and a net margin of 12.03%. Sell-side analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 17.78 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is presently 15.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 355 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.61, for a total transaction of $54,176.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 869 shares in the company, valued at $132,618.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 355 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.61, for a total transaction of $54,176.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 869 shares in the company, valued at $132,618.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total value of $406,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 100,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,322,302.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,998 shares of company stock worth $635,171. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MTH. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Meritage Homes from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Wedbush lowered Meritage Homes from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $148.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered Meritage Homes from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $172.67.

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.