Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $334,000 Stock Holdings in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) by 95.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,393 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 121,366 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 134.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,658 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after buying an additional 22,162 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Meritage Homes by 51.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,937 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $917,000 after buying an additional 4,407 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Meritage Homes by 58.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,058,850 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $75,051,000 after acquiring an additional 391,297 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Meritage Homes by 111.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,971 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after acquiring an additional 17,343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Meritage Homes by 102.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 319,150 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,621,000 after acquiring an additional 161,806 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Meritage Homes

Here are the key news stories impacting Meritage Homes this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citizens JMP raised its Q4 2026 EPS estimate to $1.62 from $1.30 and its Q4 2027 forecast to $1.82 from $1.51. The firm also lifted its FY2027 estimate to $5.50 from $5.28, suggesting improved earnings potential beyond the near term.
• Positive Sentiment: Meritage Homes recently exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.42 per share versus the $1.30 consensus estimate. The earnings beat may have helped support investor sentiment, despite weaker revenue.
• Neutral Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods issued estimates of $1.16 EPS for Q3 2026, $5.95 for FY2027 and $6.98 for FY2028. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Estimates Meritage Homes Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts’ forecasts remain above the current full-year consensus in some cases, but the wide range of estimates signals uncertainty surrounding the housing market and Meritage’s earnings outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Citizens JMP lowered its FY2026 EPS estimate to $4.82 from $4.86 and trimmed estimates for Q1, Q2 and Q3 2027. Wolfe Research cut its Q3 2026 forecast to $1.14 from $1.40 and FY2027 EPS to $6.04 from $6.82.
• Negative Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced its FY2027 estimate to $5.95 from $6.51 and FY2028 estimate to $6.98 from $7.70. These downward revisions point to continued concerns about demand, affordability and profitability.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In related news, CAO Alison Sasser sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.11, for a total transaction of $79,066.03. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,147.74. The trade was a 14.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTH opened at $74.61 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $74.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.40. Meritage Homes Corporation has a twelve month low of $58.03 and a twelve month high of $85.38. The company has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.12. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 7.13% and a net margin of 6.11%.The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.04 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Meritage Homes’s payout ratio is 40.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MTH. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Meritage Homes from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Zelman & Associates lowered Meritage Homes from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.25.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

Meritage Homes Corporation is a national homebuilder and residential developer headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1985 as Winchester Homes and later rebranded to Meritage Homes, the company specializes in designing, constructing and selling single‐family detached and attached homes. With a focus on energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, Meritage Homes markets its properties under the GreenSmart program, which integrates high‐performance features aimed at reducing long‐term energy and water consumption for homebuyers.

The company’s core activities encompass land acquisition, residential community planning, home design, construction management and real estate sales.