Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 4,855 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 56.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,753 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 4,855 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,229 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,508,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 2.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,719 shares of the construction company's stock worth $558,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 264.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,259 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 8,166 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 103.2% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 27,190 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,576,000 after purchasing an additional 13,812 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 22,051 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,522,000 after buying an additional 6,301 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at $427,353.99. The trade was a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James lowered shares of Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com raised Meritage Homes from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $98.50 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Meritage Homes stock traded up $0.98 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $75.69. 385,811 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 947,210. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $79.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.23. The firm has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.88. 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 52 week low of $69.26 and a 52 week high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. On average, analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

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.