Flputnam Investment Management Co. Acquires 192 Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,742 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Lennar were worth $3,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Coastline Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Lennar by 80.8% during the fourth quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 24,515 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,654,000 after acquiring an additional 10,957 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Lennar by 6,297.0% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 662,277 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $98,706,000 after acquiring an additional 651,924 shares during the period. PGGM Investments increased its position in Lennar by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 88,872 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,974,000 after purchasing an additional 12,469 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,367,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC boosted its stake in Lennar by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 1,808 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of LEN traded down $4.30 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $151.82. The stock had a trading volume of 736,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,090,471. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.26 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 5.47. Lennar Co. has a 12 month low of $102.90 and a 12 month high of $172.59. The company’s 50-day moving average is $159.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.61.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.36. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 11.59%. The company had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Lennar Co. will post 14.46 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Lennar’s payout ratio is currently 14.02%.

Insider Transactions at Lennar

In related news, Director Amy Banse acquired 1,575 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $157.00 per share, with a total value of $247,275.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 11,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,861,863. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on LEN shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Lennar from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, March 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on Lennar from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Lennar from $175.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Lennar from $224.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lennar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.88.

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.