Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) CAO Alison Sasser Sells 152 Shares

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) CAO Alison Sasser sold 152 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.63, for a total value of $11,191.76. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $466,077.90. The trade was a 2.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Alison Sasser also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 19th, Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of Meritage Homes stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28.
• On Wednesday, February 12th, Alison Sasser sold 260 shares of Meritage Homes stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $19,055.40.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 1.8 %

Meritage Homes stock traded down $1.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $73.41. The stock had a trading volume of 310,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 932,513. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.88. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12 month low of $71.05 and a 12 month high of $106.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $98.50 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Raymond James lowered Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 53.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 15.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth approximately $92,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.