Virtu Financial LLC Invests $850,000 in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 5,528 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $850,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MTH. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,293 shares of the construction company's stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Meritage Homes by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,409 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,821 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 3.2% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 12,504 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,564,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meritage Homes news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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. Insiders have sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 0.4 %

Meritage Homes stock traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $72.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 824,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 826,908. 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 52-week low of $68.93 and a 52-week high of $106.99. The firm's 50 day moving average is $75.51 and its 200 day moving average is $86.79. The company has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 1.92.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MTH shares. StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $98.50 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.25.

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.