T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Sells 324,790 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 38.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 524,318 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 324,790 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 0.72% of Meritage Homes worth $80,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MTH. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,293 shares of the construction company's stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,758 shares of the construction company's stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 3,219 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE MTH traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $67.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 872,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 883,986. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.85 and a 200 day moving average of $80.74. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 1.69. Meritage Homes Co. has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.02). Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.06 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday. StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $104.63.

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.