V Square Quantitative Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 60.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,678 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Lennar were worth $461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LEN. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings 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 worth $734,477,000 after purchasing an additional 366,983 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,681,233 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $399,611,000 after purchasing an additional 79,217 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Lennar by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,700,016 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $253,319,000 after buying an additional 72,146 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Lennar by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,550,371 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $231,067,000 after acquiring an additional 8,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Lennar by 47.6% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,501,257 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $168,486,000 after purchasing an additional 484,056 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Trading Down 4.2 %

LEN traded down $6.86 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $155.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,579,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,992,638. The stock has a market cap of $43.38 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $160.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.64. Lennar Co. has a twelve month low of $102.90 and a twelve month high of $172.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 5.47 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $7.31 billion during 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 was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Lennar Co. will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 23rd. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Lennar from $179.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Lennar from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Wedbush restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $144.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Lennar from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.88.

Insider Transactions at Lennar

In other Lennar news, Director Amy Banse bought 1,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $157.00 per share, with a total value of $247,275.00. Following the purchase, the director now 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 available through this link. In other news, EVP Jeffrey Joseph Mccall sold 10,000 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.70, for a total transaction of $1,627,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 128,629 shares in the company, valued at $20,927,938.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Amy Banse bought 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,861,863. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

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.