Fox Run Management L.L.C. Purchases Shares of 4,464 Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,464 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $687,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 545.5% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 235.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 3,044.8% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 912 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 41.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

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Meritage Homes Price Performance

NYSE:MTH traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $72.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 824,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 826,908. Meritage Homes Co. has a twelve month low of $68.93 and a twelve month high of $106.99. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.64. The company has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 1.92.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. On average, analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $98.50 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.25.

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.