New York Life Investment Management LLC Buys Shares of 3,790 Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,790 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $583,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,147,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,029,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,365,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 75.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 347,227 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $71,206,000 after purchasing an additional 148,898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 26.9% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 483,159 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $99,081,000 after purchasing an additional 102,502 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MTH traded up $2.97 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $74.82. 1,208,710 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 961,331. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $69.26 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $79.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.23.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is 13.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James cut shares of Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $98.50 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.25.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In other news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $427,353.99. The trade was a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547 in the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.