Fisher Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Fisher Asset Management LLC cut its position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 693,147 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 33,630 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.96% of Meritage Homes worth $106,620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 53.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Archer Investment Corp raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 42.1% during the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 675 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $43,607.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of MTH traded up $2.97 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $74.82. The stock had a trading volume of 1,208,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 961,331. The firm has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 1.88. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12 month low of $69.26 and a 12 month high of $106.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $79.56 and a 200 day moving average of $89.23. 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 (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is 13.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MTH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James lowered shares of Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $98.50 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes 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.