Bleakley Financial Group LLC Acquires 163 Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,011 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Lennar were worth $747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Lennar by 5.9% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,544,345 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $734,477,000 after acquiring an additional 366,983 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,681,233 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $399,611,000 after buying an additional 79,217 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 551.1% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,824,684 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $191,793,000 after buying an additional 1,544,432 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,700,016 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $253,319,000 after buying an additional 72,146 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,542,363 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $173,099,000 after buying an additional 6,803 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lennar Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE LEN opened at $159.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.51 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $159.55 and its 200-day moving average is $140.90. The company has a current ratio of 5.47, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Lennar Co. has a 1 year low of $102.90 and a 1 year high of $172.59.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.39 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 15.90%. Lennar’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. Equities 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is 14.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lennar from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. UBS Group upped 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 reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lennar in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.88.

Insider Activity at Lennar

In related news, Director Amy Banse bought 1,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $157.00 per share, for a total transaction of $247,275.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 11,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,861,863. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.