Sei Investments Co. Buys 4,397 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,699 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,397 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.07% of Meritage Homes worth $7,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its stake in Meritage Homes by 3,044.8% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 912 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MTH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $98.50 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.25.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 3.7 %

NYSE:MTH traded up $2.47 on Friday, hitting $69.08. 1,927,085 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 871,280. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52 week low of $65.19 and a 52 week high of $106.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 1.69. The company's 50-day moving average price is $73.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.17.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.16%.

Insider Activity

In other Meritage Homes news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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 sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 in the last ninety 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.