Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 13.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,278 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 3,674 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Lennar were worth $5,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Lennar during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 933.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 155 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Lennar in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in Lennar by 4,225.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 173 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lennar Stock Performance

NYSE LEN opened at $173.35 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.90, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $177.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.62. Lennar Co. has a 12-month low of $125.17 and a 12-month high of $193.80.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.14 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. Lennar’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.91 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Lennar Co. will post 14.18 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LEN shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Lennar from $240.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Lennar from $154.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Lennar from $164.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $144.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lennar

In related news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total value of $3,064,775.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,689 shares in the company, valued at $4,148,654.57. This represents a 42.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Lennar

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.