The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases 2,777,567 Shares of Lennar Corporation $LEN

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Lennar Corporation by 45.4% in the first quarter, owning nearly 8.9 million shares valued at over $1 billion.
• Several analysts have recently downgraded their ratings on Lennar, with the stock receiving an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $128.85.
• Lennar reported earnings of $1.90 per share for the quarter, missing estimates and showing a 4.4% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) by 45.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,894,125 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 2,777,567 shares during the quarter. Lennar makes up 1.0% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 3.37% of Lennar worth $1,020,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lennar in the first quarter valued at about $926,000. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc boosted its stake in Lennar by 15.4% in the first quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 2,183 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Lennar by 2.1% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 208,763 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $23,962,000 after buying an additional 4,332 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lennar by 24.8% in the first quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 42,041 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,825,000 after buying an additional 8,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 77.7% during the first quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 3,649 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LEN. Barclays cut their price target on Lennar from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on 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 lowered Lennar from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. JMP Securities cut their price target on Lennar from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Lennar from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $128.85.

Lennar Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of LEN traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $133.28. 1,846,892 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,105,015. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.52 billion, a PE ratio of 11.02, a PEG ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.52. 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $98.42 and a 52 week high of $193.80.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $8.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.21 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 12.73%. Lennar's quarterly revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Lennar Corporation will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

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