WINTON GROUP Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 1,597.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 84,610 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 79,626 shares during the quarter. Meritage Homes accounts for about 0.9% of WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $13,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 545.5% in 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 last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 3,044.8% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 912 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 41.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Meritage Homes

In related news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton acquired 11,000 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $74.51 per share, for a total transaction of $819,610.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 811,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,441,915.92. This represents a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total transaction of $48,692.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares in the company, valued at $427,353.99. This trade represents a 10.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,683 shares of company stock valued at $122,547 over the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $72.94 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a PE ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 1.92. The company’s 50 day moving average is $75.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.54. Meritage Homes Co. has a 52 week low of $68.93 and a 52 week high of $106.99. 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 posted its 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 return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. Equities analysts predict that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid 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 is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MTH. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.50 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Meritage Homes from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

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.