Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Purchased by Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc.

Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 27.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,353 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,588 shares during the period. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. owned 0.09% of Meritage Homes worth $10,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Allworth Financial LP grew 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTH has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com cut Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meritage Homes news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the business'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 in the company, valued at $427,353.99. The trade was a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE MTH traded up $0.70 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $68.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,692,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 890,019. The business's 50 day moving average is $70.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.57. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $59.27 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 1.69.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. As a group, equities 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 issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

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.