Clearbridge Investments LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,586 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 13,993 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Meritage Homes worth $20,548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $101,695,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Meritage Homes by 2,199.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 305,605 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $47,008,000 after purchasing an additional 292,317 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth $43,147,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the third quarter worth $36,365,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 75.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 347,227 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $71,206,000 after buying an additional 148,898 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value 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 represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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Meritage Homes Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of MTH traded up $2.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $69.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,927,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 871,280. The company has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $73.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.05. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1-year low of $65.19 and a 1-year high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is 13.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MTH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $98.50 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.