Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Sold by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 24.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 283,479 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 89,834 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $43,605,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 14,589 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at $3,218,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,699 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,337,000 after buying an additional 4,397 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 545.5% in 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 in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $69.08 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $73.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.17. 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 1-year low of $65.19 and a 1-year high of $106.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 1.69.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last three months. 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.