Venturi Wealth Management LLC Takes $92,000 Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 600 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MTH. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 241.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,614 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,557 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,199 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake 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 worth $17,092,000 after acquiring an additional 4,838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castellan Group lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 5.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of MTH opened at $73.84 on Monday. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1-year low of $71.05 and a 1-year high of $106.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $80.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 1.88.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is 11.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,531 shares of company stock valued at $111,355. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Raymond James cut shares of Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $98.50 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

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.