Fox Run Management L.L.C. Makes New Investment in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,464 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $687,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Meritage Homes by 235.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 3,044.8% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 912 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on MTH shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meritage Homes presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Clinton Szubinski sold 595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.29, for a total transaction of $43,607.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 30,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,238,789.63. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

MTH stock opened at $73.37 on Tuesday. Meritage Homes Co. has a one year low of $68.93 and a one year high of $106.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $75.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.17. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. On average, analysts forecast that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

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.