AlphaQuest LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 13,817.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,428 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 5,389 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 264.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,259 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 8,166 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 244,776 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $50,196,000 after purchasing an additional 21,092 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 53.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 60.6% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,462 shares of the construction company's stock worth $505,000 after buying an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 10.1% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,867 shares of the construction company's stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Meritage Homes from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 4.1 %

Meritage Homes stock traded down $2.96 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $69.20. 1,444,047 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,001,820. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $77.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.38. Meritage Homes Co. has a twelve month low of $68.93 and a twelve month high of $106.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a PE ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 1.92.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. Research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.