National Pension Service Sells 15,080 Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

National Pension Service decreased its holdings in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 365,548 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 15,080 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.14% of Lennar worth $47,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Lennar by 17.6% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,683 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after acquiring an additional 998 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in Lennar during the third quarter valued at $388,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lennar during the third quarter valued at $217,000. abrdn plc increased its position in Lennar by 35.7% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 73,885 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $13,806,000 after acquiring an additional 19,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC purchased a new stake in Lennar during the third quarter valued at $216,000. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Stock Performance

NYSE LEN opened at $120.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $31.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $131.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.81. Lennar Co. has a twelve month low of $117.90 and a twelve month high of $193.80.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.15 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.06 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. Lennar’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 given 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 dividend yield of 1.66%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on LEN. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Lennar from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Lennar from $170.00 to $152.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays cut their price target on Lennar from $135.00 to $121.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Lennar from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Lennar from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lennar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.88.

About Lennar

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.