Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,003 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 324 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Lennar were worth $1,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lennar by 69.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LEN shares. Wolfe Research downgraded Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Lennar from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Lennar from $183.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Lennar from $141.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $131.00 price target (down previously from $159.00) on shares of Lennar in a report on Monday, March 24th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given 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

LEN stock opened at $108.25 on Tuesday. Lennar Co. has a 52-week low of $98.42 and a 52-week high of $187.61. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.77. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $28.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.51.

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

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.57%.

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.