Florida Financial Advisors LLC Sells 914 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Florida Financial Advisors LLC decreased its position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 39.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,429 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 914 shares during the quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MTH. Allworth Financial LP grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 3,044.8% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 912 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the third quarter worth $230,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the business’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 $427,353.99. The trade was a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 0.4 %

MTH stock opened at $72.96 on Wednesday. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1-year low of $68.93 and a 1-year high of $106.99. The stock has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 1.92. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $75.40 and its 200 day moving average is $86.64.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. Sell-side analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTH has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

About Meritage Homes

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.