Proficio Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTHFree Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 20,920 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,218,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 545.5% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 53.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 172 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 3,044.8% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 912 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MTH shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective 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. 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 for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

View Our Latest Research Report on Meritage Homes

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the acquisition, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 0.8 %

MTH opened at $69.91 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $75.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.48. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1-year low of $68.93 and a 1-year high of $106.99. The company has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTHGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. Analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company 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 2.46%. 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%.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MTH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTHFree Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH)

Receive News & Ratings for Meritage Homes Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Meritage Homes and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.