Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Bought by Boothbay Fund Management LLC

Boothbay Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 236.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,523 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 39,003 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Meritage Homes worth $8,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 18.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 211,043 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $43,279,000 after buying an additional 32,810 shares in the last quarter. Castellan Group increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Castellan Group now owns 31,981 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $6,558,000 after purchasing an additional 1,516 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the third quarter worth $16,056,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 9.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 244,776 shares of the construction company's stock worth $50,196,000 after purchasing an additional 21,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Meritage Homes by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,763 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,963,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 0.4 %

MTH traded down $0.29 during trading on Monday, hitting $67.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 872,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 883,986. Meritage Homes Co. has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $106.99. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $69.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.74. 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 market cap of $4.86 billion, a PE ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 1.69.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.06 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.06%.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other Meritage Homes 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 transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MTH. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.63.

Meritage Homes 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.