Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Sold by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP lowered its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 24.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 283,479 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 89,834 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 0.39% of Meritage Homes worth $43,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of 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. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the construction company's stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MTH shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $98.50 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.25.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH stock traded down $3.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $63.38. The company had a trading volume of 113,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 874,094. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $72.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.95. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $59.27 and a 12-month 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 capitalization of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 1.69.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued 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 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

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.