Proficio Capital Partners LLC Acquires New Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 20,920 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $3,218,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MTH. State Street Corp increased 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 purchasing an additional 74,422 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 489,035 shares of the construction company's stock worth $100,286,000 after purchasing an additional 5,732 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 26.9% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 483,159 shares of the construction company's stock worth $99,081,000 after purchasing an additional 102,502 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 405,854 shares of the construction company's stock worth $62,429,000 after purchasing an additional 3,219 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 75.1% during the 3rd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 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, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $427,353.99. The trade was 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 have sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTH has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $98.50 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Meritage Homes stock traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $77.68. 1,292,170 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 971,422. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.94 and a beta of 1.88. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12 month low of $69.26 and a 12 month high of $106.99. The business's 50-day moving average is $79.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.04.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

About Meritage Homes

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.