Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 10,503 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,736 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 10,503 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Meritage Homes worth $9,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the 1st quarter worth $48,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 339.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 431 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 108.3% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,337 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE:MTH opened at $152.06 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $159.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.25. The company has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of 7.63 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1-year low of $109.23 and a 1-year high of $179.68.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The construction company reported $5.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.18 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 17.03%. On average, equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 17.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is 15.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $148.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.67.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 231 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.99, for a total transaction of $35,340.69. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,408.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 231 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.99, for a total transaction of $35,340.69. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,408.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.62, for a total transaction of $121,638.14. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,234 shares in the company, valued at $798,813.08. 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. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.