PGGM Investments Decreases Stock Holdings in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

PGGM Investments trimmed its holdings in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,393 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 13,479 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Lennar were worth $11,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Coastline Trust Co increased its position 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 during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Lennar by 6,297.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 651,924 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new position in Lennar during the fourth quarter valued at $5,367,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Lennar by 97.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 354,711 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,866,000 after purchasing an additional 174,981 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in Lennar by 7.0% during the third quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 1,808 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Lennar

In other news, Director Amy Banse acquired 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 10th. The stock was 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LEN shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Lennar from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on Lennar from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Lennar from $179.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lennar from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lennar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.88.

Lennar Stock Up 1.0 %

Lennar stock traded up $1.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $154.29. 1,348,527 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,075,435. The company has a current ratio of 5.47, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $159.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.06. Lennar Co. has a one year low of $102.90 and a one year high of $172.59. The company has a market cap of $42.95 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.53.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.36. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 11.59%. The firm had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Lennar Co. will post 14.46 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.