Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Decreases Stock Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,105 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 8,738 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.06% of Meritage Homes worth $6,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MTH. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 235.1% in 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 period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Meritage Homes by 33.1% during the fourth 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. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 14,589 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,244,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Meritage Homes by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,699 shares of the construction company's stock worth $7,337,000 after acquiring an additional 4,397 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,218,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of MTH traded down $3.91 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $62.09. 1,242,981 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 875,930. The company has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 1.69. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1 year low of $61.32 and a 1 year high of $106.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $72.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.33. 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 announced 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 yield of 2.77%. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com cut Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $98.50 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.25.

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.