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

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) CAO Alison Sasser sold 152 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $466,077.90. This represents a 2.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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 transaction 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

Shares of Meritage Homes stock opened at $72.26 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.53 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $80.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.92.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Institutional Trading of Meritage Homes

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 53.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 15.5% during 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. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 125.2% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 509 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTH has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.