Greenleaf Trust Grows Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Greenleaf Trust raised its position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,220 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Lennar were worth $712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lennar by 4,225.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 173 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennar Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:LEN opened at $128.36 on Wednesday. Lennar Co. has a 12-month low of $125.21 and a 12-month high of $193.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.71 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.93.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.15 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.06 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The firm’s revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.82 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 12.52 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. Lennar’s payout ratio is currently 13.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BTIG Research downgraded Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Lennar from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Lennar from $210.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Lennar from $190.00 to $162.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Lennar from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.50.

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.