Palouse Capital Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Palouse Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 36.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 690 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 399 shares during the quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 1,033.3% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 272 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes in the second quarter worth about $61,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the 2nd quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $512,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,570 shares in the company, valued at $9,136,850. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $512,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,136,850. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.35, for a total value of $2,003,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,084,793.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $3,111,080. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTH has been the topic of several research reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Wedbush upgraded Meritage Homes from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $160.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on Meritage Homes from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.83.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

NYSE MTH traded down $8.82 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $195.18. 168,082 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 403,651. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52-week low of $109.23 and a 52-week high of $213.98. The company has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a PE ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $196.31 and its 200-day moving average is $180.60.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $1.14. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 17.99% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.02 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.99%.

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.