Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) Stake Boosted by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,728 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 329 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Lennar were worth $3,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Lennar by 6,297.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 662,277 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $98,706,000 after purchasing an additional 651,924 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lennar by 47.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,501,257 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $168,486,000 after buying an additional 484,056 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Lennar by 5.9% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,544,345 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $734,477,000 after buying an additional 366,983 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Lennar by 828.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 308,733 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $34,649,000 after acquiring an additional 275,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lennar during the 3rd quarter worth about $16,835,000. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Lennar from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Lennar from $175.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Lennar from $224.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Lennar from $179.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $144.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.88.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEN opened at $151.62 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 5.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $159.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.08. The company has a market cap of $42.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.53. Lennar Co. has a twelve month low of $102.90 and a twelve month high of $172.59.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.39 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 11.59%. Lennar’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Amy Banse purchased 1,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $157.00 per share, with a total value of $247,275.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 11,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,861,863. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 9.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.