Florida Financial Advisors LLC Sells 914 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Florida Financial Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 39.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,429 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 914 shares during the quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MTH. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 2,199.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 305,605 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,008,000 after buying an additional 292,317 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,147,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the third quarter worth $44,029,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,365,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 75.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 347,227 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $71,206,000 after purchasing an additional 148,898 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTH has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.25.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,238,789.63. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. 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 Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of MTH opened at $72.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 1.92. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52 week low of $68.93 and a 52 week high of $106.99. 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 fifty day moving average of $75.40 and a 200-day moving average of $86.64.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.16%.

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.