Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Boosts Stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 273,918 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,515 shares during the period. Lennar accounts for 1.5% of Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Lennar were worth $47,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEN. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased 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 valued at $98,706,000 after buying an additional 651,924 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,501,257 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $168,486,000 after purchasing an additional 484,056 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 5.9% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 97.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 354,711 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,866,000 after purchasing an additional 174,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Akaris Global Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $15,016,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of Lennar stock traded up $2.24 on Friday, hitting $151.55. 3,883,004 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,293,238. The company has a market cap of $42.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.08. Lennar Co. has a 12-month low of $102.90 and a 12-month high of $172.59. The company has a current ratio of 4.93, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a $0.50 dividend. 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 Friday, July 5th. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lennar

In other news, VP Mark Sustana sold 9,176 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.88, for a total transaction of $1,512,938.88. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 16,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,764,707.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Mark Sustana sold 9,176 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.88, for a total transaction of $1,512,938.88. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 16,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,764,707.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey Joseph Mccall sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.70, for a total transaction of $1,627,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 128,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,927,938.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,176 shares of company stock worth $4,841,039. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research 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 research note on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Lennar from $238.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $183.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Lennar from $157.00 to $154.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.47.

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.