Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) Shares Acquired by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 97.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 354,711 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 174,981 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned 0.12% of Lennar worth $52,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RFG Advisory LLC increased its position in Lennar by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,847 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in Lennar by 2.6% during the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,009 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Lennar by 4.2% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,810 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in Lennar by 7.0% during the third quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 1,808 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Lennar by 4.2% during the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,991 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LEN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Lennar from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Lennar from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Lennar from $175.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a research note 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Amy Banse acquired 1,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $157.00 per share, with a total value of $247,275.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 11,859 shares in the company, valued at $1,861,863. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lennar Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:LEN opened at $155.66 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $159.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.41. The stock has a market cap of $43.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.53. Lennar Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.90 and a fifty-two week high of $172.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 5.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

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

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors 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 1.28%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.02%.

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.