Lennar Corporation $LEN Shares Sold by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its shares in Lennar Corporation by 44.6%, selling 18,454 shares and leaving them with 22,904 shares worth $2.63 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes in Lennar, with the Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raising its holdings by 45.4% and now owning shares valued at over $1 billion.
• Lennar's stock recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.90, missing the consensus estimate of $1.94, while the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 paid to investors on July 18th.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) by 44.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,904 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 18,454 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Lennar were worth $2,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Lennar by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,719 shares of the construction company's stock worth $886,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its holdings in Lennar by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 6,509 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $747,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lennar by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,841 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,015,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Lennar by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,517 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Omnia Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Lennar by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 6,417 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $737,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company's stock.

Lennar Price Performance

LEN stock traded down $2.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $137.27. 478,723 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,145,832. The company has a market cap of $35.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 1.33. Lennar Corporation has a 52-week low of $98.42 and a 52-week high of $193.80. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $123.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 3.65.

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

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. Lennar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on LEN. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Lennar from $164.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Lennar from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lennar from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Lennar from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, JMP Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Lennar from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $130.77.

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.