Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) Stake Boosted by Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC

Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 30.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,667 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Meritage Homes by 157.6% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 1,033.3% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 272 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter worth about $61,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in Meritage Homes in the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Meritage Homes by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 676 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $512,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,136,850. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $512,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 44,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,136,850. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.35, for a total value of $2,003,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,084,793.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $3,111,080. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of MTH stock opened at $200.45 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $193.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.35 and a beta of 1.80. Meritage Homes Co. has a fifty-two week low of $109.23 and a fifty-two week high of $213.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $1.14. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.02 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James lifted their price target on Meritage Homes from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research raised Meritage Homes from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Wedbush increased their price target on Meritage Homes from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meritage Homes currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.00.

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.