Clinton Szubinski Sells 595 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Stock

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the company’s 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

NYSE:MTH opened at $73.75 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $81.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.88. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $72.19 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 10.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 11.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 65.7% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 17,259 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,539,000 after buying an additional 6,843 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 47,546 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,750,000 after acquiring an additional 11,558 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 125.2% in 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 in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Meritage Homes by 47.3% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,364 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $98.50 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.