Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 26.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,048 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 22,385 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.09% of Meritage Homes worth $9,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 545.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 3,044.8% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 912 shares of the construction company's stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the 3rd quarter valued at about $217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $98.50 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

NYSE:MTH traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $72.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 549,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 825,669. The business's fifty day moving average is $75.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.64. The stock has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 1.92. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1 year low of $68.93 and a 1 year high of $106.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. 2.00% of the stock is 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.