Alliancebernstein L.P. Decreases Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 355,727 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 66,808 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.49% of Meritage Homes worth $54,718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MTH. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MTH traded down $3.28 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $63.31. 140,982 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 874,150. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.19 and a 200 day moving average of $83.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 1.69. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. This is an increase from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTH has been the topic of several research reports. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group lowered 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. 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, Meritage Homes currently 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.