Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) Shares Sold by Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI decreased its holdings in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 49.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 149,324 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 148,770 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI’s holdings in Lennar were worth $27,995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Lennar by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,903,555 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,106,798,000 after purchasing an additional 73,638 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Lennar by 15.1% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021,856 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $452,886,000 after buying an additional 396,951 shares in the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Lennar by 3.5% during the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,666,905 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $499,991,000 after buying an additional 89,896 shares in the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. grew its holdings in Lennar by 428.9% during the 2nd quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 2,420,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $362,685,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Lennar by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,015,641 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $302,084,000 after purchasing an additional 348,553 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lennar Stock Down 0.9 %

Lennar stock opened at $163.45 on Friday. Lennar Co. has a twelve month low of $135.31 and a twelve month high of $193.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $175.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.79. The company has a current ratio of 4.90, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.82, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.61.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.28. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. The firm had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Lennar Co. will post 14.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Lennar’s payout ratio is currently 13.25%.

Insider Activity at Lennar

In other Lennar news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total value of $3,064,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,148,654.57. This trade represents a 42.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LEN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Lennar from $154.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. JMP Securities upped their price objective on Lennar from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Lennar from $240.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on Lennar from $164.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lennar from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.29.

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.