State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Cuts Stock Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury trimmed its stake in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 24.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,326 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 35,868 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Lennar were worth $15,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lennar by 51.0% during the fourth quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 234 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Lennar by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,836 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,932,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lennar by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,284 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $584,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in Lennar by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,220 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $712,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LEN shares. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Lennar from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Lennar from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $131.00 target price (down previously from $159.00) on shares of Lennar in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on Lennar from $121.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Lennar from $183.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lennar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $150.07.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LEN opened at $107.89 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $115.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.05. The company has a market cap of $28.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.51. Lennar Co. has a 1-year low of $98.42 and a 1-year high of $187.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.71 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $7.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.44 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. Lennar’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.57 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.57%.

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.