Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Sold by Atria Investments Inc

Atria Investments Inc trimmed its position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,150 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 312 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 53.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 986 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,409 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,821 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In related news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:MTH opened at $70.61 on Tuesday. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $68.93 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.68. The firm has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 1.92.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. Equities analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MTH shares. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price objective (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.25.

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.