Corient Private Wealth LLC Buys 420 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 41.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,423 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $219,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 14,589 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at $3,218,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Meritage Homes by 545.5% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth $5,823,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MTH. StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $98.50 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE MTH opened at $71.00 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $74.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 1.92. Meritage Homes Co. has a fifty-two week low of $68.71 and a fifty-two week high of $106.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.16%.

Meritage Homes Company 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.