Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Purchased by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 205.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 418,884 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 281,773 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.58% of Meritage Homes worth $64,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,293 shares of the construction company's stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,758 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 3,219 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MTH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $97.72.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of MTH traded up $1.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $68.93. 644,149 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 881,756. The company has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 1.50. Meritage Homes Co. has a fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week high of $106.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock's 50-day moving average is $68.24 and its 200-day moving average is $78.23.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.06 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 14.06%.

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.