Forsta AP Fonden Cuts Stock Position in Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden reduced its stake in Lennar Corporation by 13.6%, selling 6,400 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 40,800 shares valued at $4.68 million.
• Lennar recently reported quarterly earnings with an EPS of $1.90, slightly missing the analyst estimate of $1.94, while its revenue of $8.38 billion exceeded expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, representing an annualized yield of 1.7% with a payout ratio of 16.54%.

Forsta AP Fonden trimmed its holdings in shares of Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) by 13.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,800 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 6,400 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Lennar were worth $4,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Lennar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lennar in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Lennar in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Franchise Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lennar by 139.9% during the first quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 343 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company's stock.

Lennar Stock Performance

Lennar stock traded up $4.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $124.61. The company had a trading volume of 3,044,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,683,013. The company has a market capitalization of $32.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.29. Lennar Corporation has a 12-month low of $98.42 and a 12-month high of $193.80. The company's fifty day moving average is $112.68 and its 200-day moving average is $114.17. The company has a current ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 16th. The construction company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.04). Lennar had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $8.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.21 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.45 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Lennar Corporation will post 12.48 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Lennar's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on LEN. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $164.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Lennar from $128.00 to $114.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 20th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Lennar from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Lennar from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, Zelman & Associates downgraded Lennar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lennar has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $128.85.

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.