Alison Sasser Sells 152 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Stock

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) CAO Alison Sasser sold 152 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.63, for a total transaction of $11,191.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $466,077.90. The trade was a 2.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Alison Sasser also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 19th, Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of Meritage Homes stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28.
• On Wednesday, February 12th, Alison Sasser sold 260 shares of Meritage Homes stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $19,055.40.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH opened at $76.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.83. The firm has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 1.88. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1 year low of $71.05 and a 1 year high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its 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 net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. As a group, analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MTH shares. 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. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James downgraded Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted 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 valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 53.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $92,000. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.