Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 33,630 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 693,147 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 33,630 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.96% of Meritage Homes worth $106,620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MTH. 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. boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 53.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at $92,000. Archer Investment Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 42.1% during the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 675 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 3,044.8% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 912 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Meritage Homes stock opened at $72.37 on Friday. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1 year low of $71.05 and a 1 year high of $106.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.49. The company has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.53 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 (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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 note on Wednesday, January 8th. 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. Raymond James cut Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 target price 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 assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.25.

Meritage Homes 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.