Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 15,300 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board decreased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 91.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,400 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 15,300 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MTH. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth about $101,695,000. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,910,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Meritage Homes by 2,199.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 305,605 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,008,000 after purchasing an additional 292,317 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,147,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,446,000. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Meritage Homes news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value 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. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE MTH opened at $67.92 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $69.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.69. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52-week low of $59.27 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.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. Sell-side analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase 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 2.53%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MTH. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

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.