Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Has $488,000 Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. cut its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,800 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MTH. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 1,156.3% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,201 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 4,787 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 0.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 39,500 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,834,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the third quarter worth $209,000. Bailard Inc. raised its position in Meritage Homes by 12.5% during the third quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 2,695 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Meritage Homes by 25.5% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,948 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total transaction of $406,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 100,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,322,302.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.79, for a total transaction of $406,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 100,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,322,302.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.61, for a total value of $54,176.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $132,618.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,998 shares of company stock worth $635,171. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MTH opened at $165.05 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $159.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.58. 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 one year low of $109.23 and a one year high of $179.68. The company has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.29 and a beta of 1.77.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $5.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.54 by $1.52. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.03% and a net margin of 12.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. Analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 17.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is 15.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MTH shares. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Meritage Homes from $151.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wedbush reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised Meritage Homes from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.67.

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.