Lennar Corporation $LEN Shares Sold by Swedbank AB

Key Points

• Swedbank AB has reduced its holdings in Lennar Corporation by 44.8%, holding 92,302 shares worth approximately $10.6 million after selling 74,880 shares in the first quarter.
• Lennar recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, bringing its annualized dividend to $2.00 with a yield of 1.5%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Lennar's stock, with one strong buy, two buys, and fifteen holds, leading to a consensus target price of $130.77.

Swedbank AB decreased its position in shares of Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) by 44.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 92,302 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 74,880 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB's holdings in Lennar were worth $10,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Lennar by 45.4% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,894,125 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,020,866,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777,567 shares during the period. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lennar by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 2,189,608 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $251,323,000 after acquiring an additional 415,218 shares during the period. Eminence Capital LP grew its stake in Lennar by 130.8% in the 1st quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 1,581,489 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $181,523,000 after acquiring an additional 896,264 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in Lennar by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 736,490 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $84,534,000 after acquiring an additional 123,266 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Shore Management Inc. CT grew its stake in Lennar by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 466,752 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $53,574,000 after acquiring an additional 70,463 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company's stock.

Lennar Price Performance

LEN stock traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $133.97. The stock had a trading volume of 4,005,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,932,259. Lennar Corporation has a 52-week low of $98.42 and a 52-week high of $193.80. The company has a current ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $125.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.75. The company has a market cap of $34.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 1.33.

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

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. Lennar's payout ratio is currently 16.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LEN. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Lennar from $122.00 to $98.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lennar from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Lennar from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Zelman & Associates lowered Lennar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Lennar from $164.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lennar has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $130.77.

About Lennar

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.