Wellington Management Group LLP Increases Stock Holdings in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,239,488 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 515,378 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Lennar were worth $441,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bamco Inc. NY grew its position in Lennar by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 711,023 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $133,303,000 after purchasing an additional 17,834 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Lennar by 14.6% in the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 4,465 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $837,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in Lennar during the third quarter worth $115,229,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Lennar in the third quarter worth $533,000. Finally, HighVista Strategies LLC bought a new position in Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,444,000. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lennar Price Performance

NYSE:LEN opened at $114.79 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 4.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $123.51 and a 200 day moving average of $150.47. Lennar Co. has a 52-week low of $111.26 and a 52-week high of $187.61.

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

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LEN. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Lennar from $121.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $131.00 target price (down from $159.00) on shares of Lennar in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Lennar from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Lennar from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.