Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 278,060 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Fisher Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 26.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 782,199 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 278,060 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 2.15% of Meritage Homes worth $136,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,518 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $439,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $433,000. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth $275,000. Sage Rhino Capital LLC bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at $251,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,423 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,816,000 after buying an additional 2,411 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MTH traded up $4.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $177.18. 312,157 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 403,402. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $160.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.40. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52 week low of $109.23 and a 52 week high of $183.25. The company has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.26 and a beta of 1.75.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.54 by $1.52. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.54% and a return on equity of 17.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 20.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 13.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on MTH shares. Seaport Res Ptn cut Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.67.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.62, for a total transaction of $121,638.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $798,813.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.99, for a total transaction of $35,340.69. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,859 shares in the company, valued at $284,408.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.62, for a total transaction of $121,638.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $798,813.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,998 shares of company stock valued at $635,171 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.