Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 5,576 Shares of Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) by 64.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,013 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 5,576 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $462,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 314,323 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $48,349,000 after buying an additional 78,087 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 235.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 14,589 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,699 shares of the construction company's stock worth $7,337,000 after purchasing an additional 4,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meritage Homes by 84.6% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the construction company's stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $89.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Meritage Homes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $97.72.

Meritage Homes Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE MTH traded up $1.62 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $65.84. The stock had a trading volume of 731,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 884,376. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Meritage Homes Co. has a fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week high of $106.99. The firm has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 1.50. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $67.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.87.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 15.90%. Meritage Homes's revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.06 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Co. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.06%.

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.