Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,686 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,514 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.10% of Meritage Homes worth $6,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 91.6% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 205 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 628 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MTH shares. Zelman & Associates upgraded Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Wedbush restated an “underperform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $178.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 355 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.61, for a total transaction of $54,176.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $132,618.09. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total value of $406,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 100,266 shares in the company, valued at $16,322,302.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.61, for a total value of $54,176.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $132,618.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,998 shares of company stock valued at $635,171. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Meritage Homes stock opened at $180.59 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $162.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 1.75. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $109.23 and a 12-month high of $183.78.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.54 by $1.52. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.54% and a return on equity of 17.63%. Equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 20.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is 13.99%.

Meritage Homes Company 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.