Swedbank AB Sells 49,400 Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Swedbank AB lessened its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) by 34.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,485 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 49,400 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $6,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 372 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,559 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,559 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $892,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 808 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 5,749 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

NYSE MTH opened at $64.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 1.96. Meritage Homes Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.03 and a fifty-two week high of $84.74.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.69 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total value of $79,066.03. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,147.74. This represents a 14.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MTH shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.89.

Meritage Homes Profile

Meritage Homes Corporation is a national homebuilder and residential developer headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1985 as Winchester Homes and later rebranded to Meritage Homes, the company specializes in designing, constructing and selling single?family detached and attached homes. With a focus on energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, Meritage Homes markets its properties under the GreenSmart program, which integrates high?performance features aimed at reducing long?term energy and water consumption for homebuyers.

The company’s core activities encompass land acquisition, residential community planning, home design, construction management and real estate sales.