Insider Buying: Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Chairman Buys 11,000 Shares of Stock

Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. This trade represents a 1.37 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MTH stock traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $73.75. The stock had a trading volume of 632,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 947,194. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $72.19 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.88. The firm's 50-day moving average is $81.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.70. 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 (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. On average, analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is 11.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on 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 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 Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 53.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 433 shares of the construction company's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.