Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Shares Bought by Long Pond Capital LP

Long Pond Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 67.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 162,557 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 65,301 shares during the quarter. Meritage Homes makes up approximately 1.3% of Long Pond Capital LP's holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Long Pond Capital LP owned about 0.22% of Meritage Homes worth $25,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Meritage Homes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $101,695,000. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at about $76,910,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 2,199.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 305,605 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $47,008,000 after purchasing an additional 292,317 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter worth about $43,147,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $13,446,000. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 5.6 %

Shares of MTH traded up $3.63 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $68.15. The company had a trading volume of 269,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 963,501. The company has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a PE ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 1.69. 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 company's fifty day moving average price is $70.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.75. Meritage Homes Co. has a one year low of $59.27 and a one year high of $106.99.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a boost from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Meritage Homes's payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MTH. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Meritage Homes from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,238,789.63. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at $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 ninety days, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

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.