Centric Wealth Management Sells 10,307 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Centric Wealth Management decreased its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 46.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,664 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 10,307 shares during the quarter. Centric Wealth Management's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $1,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 266,967 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $41,065,000 after acquiring an additional 39,522 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the construction company's stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $336,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at about $101,695,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 314,323 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $48,349,000 after buying an additional 78,087 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MTH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $98.50 price objective (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.25.

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Meritage Homes Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of MTH stock traded up $2.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $69.08. 1,927,085 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 871,280. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $73.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.17. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1-year low of $65.19 and a 1-year high of $106.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 1.69.

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 net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. This is an increase from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.