Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 1,555 Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lessened its position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 7.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 18,339 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,555 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Lennar were worth $3,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lennar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its position in Lennar by 933.3% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 155 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 4,225.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 523.3% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 187 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Lennar stock opened at $154.39 on Friday. Lennar Co. has a 1 year low of $140.65 and a 1 year high of $193.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $172.46 and a 200 day moving average of $169.96. The firm has a market cap of $41.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.22, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.90 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.28. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. The company had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lennar Co. will post 14.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total value of $3,064,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,689 shares in the company, valued at $4,148,654.57. The trade was a 42.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on LEN shares. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Lennar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Lennar from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Lennar from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $183.76.

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.