Corebridge Financial Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Corebridge Financial Inc. lessened its position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,137 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,499 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $2,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 545.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 3,044.8% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 912 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $70.87 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $74.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 1.92. Meritage Homes Co. has a one year low of $68.71 and a one year high of $106.99.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTH has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price objective (down from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.25.

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.