Jane Street Group LLC Buys 51,061 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 59.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 137,306 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 51,061 shares during the quarter. Jane Street Group LLC owned 0.19% of Meritage Homes worth $21,120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,293 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 213 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position 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 last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Meritage Homes stock traded down $0.97 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $68.22. 460,084 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 878,270. 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 simple moving average is $68.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.99. The firm has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.50. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52 week low of $59.27 and a 52 week high of $106.99.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.43 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com cut Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $97.72.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at $427,353.99. The trade was a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares in the company, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.