Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Raises Holdings in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 36.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 943 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Lennar were worth $177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 933.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 155 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing 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. Asset Dedication LLC boosted 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennar Price Performance

LEN opened at $174.16 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $177.30 and a 200-day moving average of $169.56. The company has a market capitalization of $47.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.62. Lennar Co. has a 1-year low of $125.17 and a 1-year high of $193.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 4.90.

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

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LEN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $144.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, September 20th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Lennar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Lennar from $164.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their target price on shares of Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lennar from $154.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.29.

Insider Activity at Lennar

In related news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total transaction of $3,064,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,148,654.57. This represents a 42.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Lennar 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.