Mackenzie Financial Corp Sells 59,876 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Mackenzie Financial Corp trimmed its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 55.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,461 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 59,876 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned 0.13% of Meritage Homes worth $8,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Meritage Homes by 339.8% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 431 shares of the construction company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the first quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Meritage Homes by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 628 shares of the construction company's stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 355 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.61, for a total transaction of $54,176.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 869 shares of the company's stock, valued at $132,618.09. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 797 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.62, for a total transaction of $121,638.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $798,813.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 355 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 869 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $132,618.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,998 shares of company stock valued at $635,171. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MTH traded up $0.34 on Friday, hitting $150.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 285,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 299,188. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $109.23 and a 12-month high of $179.68. The company has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.55 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $159.07 and a 200-day moving average of $151.69.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wedbush lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $148.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of 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 shares of Meritage Homes from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.