41,741 Shares in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Bought by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 41,741 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $6,421,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Meritage Homes as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 53.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth about $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company's stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 42.1% in the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 675 shares of the construction company's stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Meritage Homes stock traded down $2.96 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $69.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,444,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,001,820. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 1.92. Meritage Homes Co. has a twelve month low of $68.93 and a twelve month high of $106.99. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $77.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.38.

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Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is 13.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,238,789.63. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 disclosure for this purchase 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. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group cut their price target on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes 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.