6,705 Shares in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Purchased by iSAM Funds UK Ltd

iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,705 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,031,000. Meritage Homes accounts for about 0.8% of iSAM Funds UK Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MTH. Barclays PLC raised its position in Meritage Homes by 18.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 211,043 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $43,279,000 after purchasing an additional 32,810 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 12,002 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,846,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,821 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Meritage Homes by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,250 shares of the construction company's stock worth $500,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,603 shares of the construction company's stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Down 0.2%

MTH traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $64.23. The company had a trading volume of 536,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 884,992. The company has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $67.73 and a 200-day moving average of $77.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Meritage Homes Co. has a 1-year low of $59.27 and a 1-year high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The company's revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.06 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MTH. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $97.72.

About Meritage Homes

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.