Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC Buys 190 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,219 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $101,695,000. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at $76,910,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 2,199.9% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 305,605 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,008,000 after buying an additional 292,317 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth $43,147,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the fourth quarter valued at $13,446,000. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meritage Homes

In other news, Chairman Steven J. Hilton bought 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $74.51 per share, with a total value of $819,610.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 811,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,441,915.92. The trade was a 1.37 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Alison Sasser sold 676 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.03, for a total value of $48,692.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,353.99. This represents a 10.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,683 shares of company stock worth $122,547. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

Shares of MTH opened at $65.13 on Friday. Meritage Homes Co. has a 12 month low of $59.27 and a 12 month high of $106.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $70.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.52. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a PE ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 1.69.

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

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Meritage Homes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MTH. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group cut their price target on Meritage Homes from $126.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Meritage Homes from $117.50 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

Meritage Homes 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.