Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $20.55 Million Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 133,586 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 13,993 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Meritage Homes worth $20,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MTH. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Meritage Homes by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,293 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Meritage Homes by 545.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 2.2% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,409 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Meritage Homes by 20.1% in the fourth 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. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MTH shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $98.50 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $43,607.55. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of MTH stock opened at $71.00 on Wednesday. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12 month low of $68.71 and a 12 month high of $106.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 1.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $74.51 and a 200-day moving average of $85.74.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. On average, equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

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

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.