Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. Has $10.36 Million Position in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 27.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 67,353 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 14,588 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $10,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MTH. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 21,576 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,182 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 61.6% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 571,120 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $87,850,000 after purchasing an additional 217,618 shares during the period. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 3,219 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 43,405 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,671,000 after purchasing an additional 952 shares during the period. Finally, Long Pond Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 67.1% in the fourth quarter. Long Pond Capital LP now owns 162,557 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,005,000 after purchasing an additional 65,301 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought 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 $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 in the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH opened at $65.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.57 and a 200-day moving average of $82.13. The company has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a PE ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 1.69. Meritage Homes Co. has a one year low of $59.27 and a one year high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MTH. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group cut 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, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

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.