New York Life Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

New York Life Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,545 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 602 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lennar were worth $5,298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lennar during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lennar during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Lennar in the third quarter worth $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Lennar during the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its position in Lennar by 34.3% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 497 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Amy Banse bought 1,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $157.00 per share, with a total value of $247,275.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,861,863. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lennar Stock Performance

NYSE LEN opened at $158.10 on Friday. Lennar Co. has a fifty-two week low of $102.90 and a fifty-two week high of $172.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 5.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.08, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.02.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.36. Lennar had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The firm had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lennar Co. will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on LEN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Lennar from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Lennar from $224.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Lennar from $161.00 to $157.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Lennar in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, March 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.88.

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.