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:MTH) 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.

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:MTH) 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

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.