Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Stock Position Decreased by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. decreased its position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,495 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $435,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 91.6% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 205 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth $96,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 628 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of MTH stock opened at $169.48 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $159.56 and a 200-day moving average of $153.18. The firm has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of 7.90 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12 month low of $109.23 and a 12 month high of $179.68.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.54 by $1.52. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.54% and a return on equity of 17.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 19.95 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 13.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MTH shares. Zelman & Associates upgraded Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Wedbush reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total transaction of $406,975.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 100,266 shares in the company, valued at $16,322,302.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $132,618.09. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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. Insiders sold a total of 3,998 shares of company stock valued at $635,171 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.00% 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.