52,708 Shares in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Acquired by Crestline Management LP

Crestline Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of 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 52,708 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $8,108,000. Crestline Management LP owned about 0.07% of Meritage Homes at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Meritage Homes by 545.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth approximately $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the construction company's stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $427,353.99. The trade was a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton purchased 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of MTH stock traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $68.22. The stock had a trading volume of 460,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 878,270. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12-month low of $59.27 and a 12-month high of $106.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.99. The company has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.50.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.02). Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. The business's revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.06 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business 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 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is 14.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $97.72.

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.