Avestar Capital LLC Takes Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Avestar Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,183 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LEN. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Lennar in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in Lennar by 933.3% in the third 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. acquired a new position in Lennar in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in Lennar by 4,225.0% in the third 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, DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Lennar by 523.3% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 187 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 23,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,148,654.57. This trade represents a 42.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LEN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $154.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $144.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Lennar from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Lennar from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.29.

Lennar Stock Up 0.4 %

Lennar stock opened at $174.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $47.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 fifty day simple moving average of $176.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.59. The company has a current ratio of 4.90, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.28. Lennar had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The company had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.91 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Lennar Co. will post 14.18 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a $0.50 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 13.25%.

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.