Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 270,032 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,217 shares during the quarter. Lennar accounts for approximately 1.2% of Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Lennar worth $36,824,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lennar by 23,048.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 150,462 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,209,000 after acquiring an additional 149,812 shares during the period. Smead Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Lennar by 3.5% in 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. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lennar by 147.6% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 69,226 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $12,978,000 after buying an additional 41,264 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 101.2% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,673 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,626,000 after buying an additional 4,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Lennar by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 101,463 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $19,022,000 after acquiring an additional 8,092 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennar Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Lennar stock traded up $1.66 on Monday, reaching $131.22. The company had a trading volume of 1,121,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,488,964. The firm has a market cap of $35.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.90 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $156.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.80. Lennar Co. has a 1 year low of $128.41 and a 1 year high of $193.80.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.15 by ($0.12). Lennar had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The company had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.82 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 14.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Lennar

In other Lennar 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 value of $3,064,775.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,689 shares in the company, valued at $4,148,654.57. This trade represents a 42.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Lennar from $190.00 to $162.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. JMP Securities raised their price target on Lennar from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America raised their price target on Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.50.

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.