Smead Capital Management Inc. Has $404.17 Million Stock Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Smead Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,711,820 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 200,077 shares during the period. Lennar accounts for approximately 7.2% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Lennar were worth $404,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lennar during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lennar during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lennar in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Lennar in the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Lennar in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Amy Banse purchased 1,575 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $157.00 per share, with a total value of $247,275.00. Following 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wedbush restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $144.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Lennar from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lennar in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Lennar from $137.00 to $136.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Lennar from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.88.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of LEN stock traded up $0.90 on Thursday, reaching $152.78. 1,621,087 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,109,300. The company has a market cap of $42.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $159.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.96. 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 1 year low of $102.90 and a 1 year high of $172.59.

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

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.02%.

Lennar Company 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.