LSV Asset Management Sells 48,293 Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

LSV Asset Management cut its stake in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 838,704 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 48,293 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Lennar were worth $125,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Lennar by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,027 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $153,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in Lennar by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 8,361 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in Lennar by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,847 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lennar by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,646 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lennar by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,009 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $450,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LEN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Lennar from $175.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Lennar from $161.00 to $157.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Lennar from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Lennar from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.88.

Lennar Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of LEN stock traded up $2.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $158.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,678,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,013,571. Lennar Co. has a 52 week low of $102.90 and a 52 week high of $172.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 5.47. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.02. The company has a market cap of $44.01 billion, a PE ratio of 11.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.55.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.36. Lennar had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The business had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. Lennar’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lennar Co. will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Lennar’s payout ratio is currently 14.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lennar

In other news, Director Amy Banse bought 1,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $157.00 per share, for a total transaction of $247,275.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 11,859 shares in the company, valued at $1,861,863. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Profile

Lennar Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a homebuilder primarily under the Lennar brand in the United States. It operates through Homebuilding East, Homebuilding Central, Homebuilding Texas, Homebuilding West, Financial Services, Multifamily, and Lennar Other segments. The company's homebuilding operations include the construction and sale of single-family attached and detached homes, as well as the purchase, development, and sale of residential land; and development, construction, and management of multifamily rental properties.