Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. Acquires 14,588 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 27.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,353 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,588 shares during the period. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Meritage Homes worth $10,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth about $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 235.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $173,000 after buying an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their position. 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 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Meritage Homes stock opened at $65.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 1.69. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $59.27 and a 12-month high of $106.99. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.13.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group reduced 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes has an average 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.