Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Position in Lennar Corporation $LEN

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) by 5.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 466,027 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,117 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.18% of Lennar worth $58,738,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lennar during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Lennar during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 102.7% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 371 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Lennar by 39.7% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 405 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennar Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:LEN opened at $114.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a 50 day moving average of $113.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.81. Lennar Corporation has a 52-week low of $98.42 and a 52-week high of $144.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 4.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 16th. The construction company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.27). Lennar had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 9.27%. The firm had revenue of $9.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.03 earnings per share. Lennar’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Lennar Corporation will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 4th. Lennar’s payout ratio is presently 25.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore cut Lennar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $114.00 to $92.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. BTIG Research set a $90.00 price objective on Lennar in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lennar in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Lennar from $133.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $106.38.

About Lennar

Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) is a U.S.-based homebuilder and real estate company that designs, constructs and sells residential housing. The company offers a range of product types including single-family detached homes, townhomes and condominiums, serving buyers from entry-level and first-time purchasers to move-up, active-adult and luxury segments. Lennar also develops master-planned communities and manages land acquisition and entitlement activities that support its homebuilding operations.

In addition to home construction and sales, Lennar provides a suite of ancillary services intended to streamline the purchase process and capture additional value.