Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Decreases Stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board cut its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 91.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,400 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 15,300 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Long Pond Capital LP increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 67.1% during the 4th quarter. Long Pond Capital LP now owns 162,557 shares of the construction company's stock worth $25,005,000 after purchasing an additional 65,301 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth $13,446,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at $794,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,758 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 84.6% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $427,353.99. The trade was a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target 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. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.63.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of Meritage Homes stock traded down $0.29 on Monday, hitting $67.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 872,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 883,986. 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 $59.27 and a 1 year high of $106.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $69.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.74. The company has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 1.69.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.02). Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.06 EPS. Meritage Homes's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. This is a boost 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 14.06%.

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.