Perpetual Ltd Makes New $14.90 Million Investment in Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN)

Perpetual Ltd bought a new stake in Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 129,815 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $14,900,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Lennar by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,116,558 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $834,115,000 after acquiring an additional 213,003 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Lennar by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,239,488 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $441,769,000 after purchasing an additional 515,378 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lennar during the fourth quarter worth about $218,533,000. Eminence Capital LP grew its stake in Lennar by 43.4% in the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 685,225 shares of the construction company's stock worth $93,444,000 after purchasing an additional 207,343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D1 Capital Partners L.P. increased its holdings in Lennar by 67.3% in the fourth quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 672,433 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $88,116,000 after buying an additional 270,433 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on LEN shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Lennar from $131.00 to $114.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Lennar from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Lennar from $164.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Lennar from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.50.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LEN traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $110.34. 4,287,289 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,682,687. Lennar Corporation has a twelve month low of $98.42 and a twelve month high of $187.61. The firm has a market cap of $29.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.13, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 1.33. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $108.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 3.65 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

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

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. Lennar's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.54%.

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.