Insider Selling: Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) COO Sells $43,607.55 in Stock

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.3 %

MTH stock opened at $73.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61. Meritage Homes Co. has a one year low of $72.19 and a one year high of $106.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $81.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.78.

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

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 15.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 53.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,719 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $558,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MTH shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price 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. Raymond James lowered shares of Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.25.

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.