Clinton Szubinski Sells 595 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Stock

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) 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 sale, the chief operating officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH traded up $0.25 on Monday, reaching $73.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 632,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 947,194. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $81.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.53. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.88. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $72.19 and a 12-month high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $98.50 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $207,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 47.3% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,364 shares of the construction company's stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 15.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 31.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,113 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,689,000 after purchasing an additional 3,107 shares during the period. Finally, BOS Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. BOS Asset Management LLC now owns 4,874 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,000,000 after buying an additional 979 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

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.