Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Has $3.64 Million Stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,695 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 559 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Lennar were worth $3,640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in Lennar by 69.4% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 183 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Lennar in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lennar during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of LEN stock opened at $121.95 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.67. Lennar Co. has a 12-month low of $121.40 and a 12-month high of $193.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $141.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.69.

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

Lennar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is 13.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LEN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Lennar from $210.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lennar from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wolfe Research downgraded Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Lennar from $205.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.19.

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.