Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 66,808 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 355,727 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 66,808 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.49% of Meritage Homes worth $54,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,074,741 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $626,777,000 after purchasing an additional 26,889 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 4.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,773,609 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $363,714,000 after buying an additional 74,422 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth about $101,695,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 405,854 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $62,429,000 after buying an additional 3,219 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 75.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 347,227 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $71,206,000 after acquiring an additional 148,898 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total value of $43,607.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,238,789.63. This trade represents 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 through this link. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MTH shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $98.50 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 3.7 %

NYSE:MTH opened at $69.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.28. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $65.19 and a 52-week high of $106.99.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

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.