Insider Selling: Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) CAO Sells 260 Shares of Stock

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) CAO Alison Sasser sold 260 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $19,055.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,166 shares in the company, valued at $305,326.14. This trade represents a 5.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $73.50 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 1.88. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $72.19 and a 12 month high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,074,741 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $626,777,000 after purchasing an additional 26,889 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,773,609 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $363,714,000 after purchasing an additional 74,422 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $101,695,000. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,910,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 489,035 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $100,286,000 after purchasing an additional 5,732 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MTH shares. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James lowered Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

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.