Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Holdings Lowered by Summit Global Investments

Summit Global Investments lowered its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 52.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,888 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 5,406 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments' holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 39,500 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,834,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. raised its position in Meritage Homes by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 2,695 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,948 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $728,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 108,337 shares of the construction company's stock worth $12,541,000 after acquiring an additional 19,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 10,900 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,334,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 355 shares of the business'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 completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 869 shares of the company's stock, valued at $132,618.09. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total value of $406,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 100,266 shares in the company, valued at $16,322,302.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,998 shares of company stock valued at $635,171. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Meritage Homes from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $172.67.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MTH traded up $3.92 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $177.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 312,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 377,751. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $161.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.26 and a beta of 1.75. Meritage Homes Co. has a one year low of $109.23 and a one year high of $183.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.54 by $1.52. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.63% and a net margin of 12.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 20.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.99%.

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.