Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 782,172 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 30,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of Lennar worth $116,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LEN. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lennar in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lennar during the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on LEN shares. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Wedbush restated an “underperform” rating and set a $144.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Lennar from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Lennar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lennar

In other news, Director Amy Banse acquired 1,575 shares of the firm’s 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 acquisition, the director now directly 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 at this link. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lennar Price Performance

NYSE LEN opened at $158.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 5.47 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.02. Lennar Co. has a 52-week low of $102.90 and a 52-week high of $172.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.55.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The company had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. Lennar’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.