Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Acquires New Shares in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,370 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $323,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LEN. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $115,229,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,271,319 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $446,110,000 after buying an additional 589,553 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,250,626 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $308,696,000 after buying an additional 397,492 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 258.3% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 494,848 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $92,774,000 after buying an additional 356,731 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 2,774.5% during the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 123,142 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $16,793,000 after buying an additional 118,858 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lennar Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of LEN stock opened at $119.63 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.76 billion, a PE ratio of 8.34, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 4.71. Lennar Co. has a 52-week low of $117.90 and a 52-week high of $193.80.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.15 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.06 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.82 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research cut Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Lennar from $170.00 to $152.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays lowered their price target on Lennar from $135.00 to $121.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Lennar from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.88.

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.