Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 4,179 Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,831 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,179 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Lennar were worth $7,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LEN. Lakewood Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Lennar by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 9,385 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,407,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its stake in Lennar by 1.5% during the second quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 4,870 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $730,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lennar by 5.7% in the second quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,540 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Lennar by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,510 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Stock Down 4.8 %

LEN stock opened at $168.70 on Thursday. Lennar Co. has a 1-year low of $118.58 and a 1-year high of $193.80. The stock has a market cap of $45.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $180.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.09. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.14 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.91 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Lennar Co. will post 14.18 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total transaction of $3,064,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,148,654.57. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Lennar from $177.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their target price on Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Lennar from $164.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $144.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, September 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $181.11.

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.