Leuthold Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Leuthold Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,395 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 321 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Lennar were worth $8,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Lennar by 6,297.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 662,277 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $98,706,000 after purchasing an additional 651,924 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Lennar by 97.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 354,711 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,866,000 after acquiring an additional 174,981 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the fourth quarter worth about $16,394,000. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar during the fourth quarter worth about $15,551,000. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. purchased a new position in Lennar during the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,404,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of LEN traded up $5.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $161.26. 2,375,203 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,116,352. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 4.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.21. Lennar Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.90 and a fifty-two week high of $172.59.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 17th. The construction company reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $8.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.57 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.93% and a net margin of 11.58%. As a group, research analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 14.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LEN. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $164.00 target price (down previously from $174.00) on shares of Lennar in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Lennar from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 19th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.69.

Insider Transactions at Lennar

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Joseph Mccall sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,927,938.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Jeffrey Joseph Mccall sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.70, for a total transaction of $1,627,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 128,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,927,938.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark Sustana sold 9,176 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 16,768 shares in the company, valued at $2,764,707.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,176 shares of company stock worth $4,841,039 in the last three months. Company insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

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.