Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 21.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 192,234 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 52,542 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.27% of Meritage Homes worth $29,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth 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. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 13,207 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,032,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 111,115 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $17,092,000 after acquiring an additional 4,838 shares in the last quarter. Castellan Group lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Castellan Group now owns 33,585 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,166,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Meritage Homes by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 30,322 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,664,000 after purchasing an additional 8,271 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Meritage Homes Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MTH traded down $0.73 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.37. 1,061,312 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 945,264. The stock has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.53 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $79.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.61. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52-week low of $71.05 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 EPS 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, sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $98.50 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Raymond James lowered Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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. Finally, Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.25.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $43,607.55. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

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.