Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 39,522 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 17.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 266,967 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 39,522 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.37% of Meritage Homes worth $41,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Meritage Homes by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,074,741 shares of the construction company's stock worth $626,777,000 after buying an additional 26,889 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,773,609 shares of the construction company's stock worth $363,714,000 after acquiring an additional 74,422 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $101,695,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 405,854 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $62,429,000 after purchasing an additional 3,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 75.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 347,227 shares of the construction company's stock worth $71,206,000 after purchasing an additional 148,898 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Meritage Homes Stock Performance

MTH traded down $3.28 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $63.31. 140,982 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 874,150. The company's 50-day moving average is $72.19 and its 200 day moving average is $83.95. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52 week low of $59.27 and a 52 week high of $106.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a PE ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MTH. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $98.50 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.25.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $48,692.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

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.