Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Sold by Inspire Investing LLC

Inspire Investing LLC cut its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 7.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,016 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 156 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 1,033.3% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 272 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes during the second quarter worth approximately $61,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes during the second quarter worth approximately $64,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 676 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,266 shares in the company, valued at $18,084,793.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was 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 approximately $9,136,850. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $3,111,080. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE:MTH opened at $203.28 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.11. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $109.23 and a 12-month high of $213.98. The firm has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.48 and a beta of 1.80.

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

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wedbush upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James raised their price target on Meritage Homes from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Meritage Homes from $173.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.83.

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.