Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) Shares Acquired by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 30.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 240,619 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,505 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lennar were worth $32,813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LEN. Polianta Ltd bought a new position in Lennar during the fourth quarter worth $900,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 21.4% in 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. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in Lennar by 71.7% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 14,327 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,686,000 after acquiring an additional 5,981 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Lennar by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,271,319 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $446,110,000 after acquiring an additional 589,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its stake in Lennar by 51.8% in the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 26,382 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,597,000 after acquiring an additional 9,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of LEN opened at $113.83 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.71 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $124.05 and its 200-day moving average is $150.94. Lennar Co. has a 12-month low of $111.26 and a 12-month high of $187.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 29th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LEN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Lennar from $196.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $131.00 price objective (down previously from $159.00) on shares of Lennar in a report on Monday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Lennar from $141.00 to $128.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Lennar from $141.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $151.07.

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.