UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 11.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 32,224 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 4,100 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $4,957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MTH. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake 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. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 3,044.8% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 912 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 3.2 %

NYSE:MTH opened at $70.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 1.92. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52-week low of $68.93 and a 52-week high of $106.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $74.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.