Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Boosts Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 325,796 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 34,079 shares during the quarter. Lennar accounts for approximately 0.9% of Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.11% of Lennar worth $48,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LEN. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Lennar by 6,297.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 662,277 shares of the construction company's stock worth $98,706,000 after acquiring an additional 651,924 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 47.6% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,501,257 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $168,486,000 after buying an additional 484,056 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 5.9% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,544,345 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $734,477,000 after buying an additional 366,983 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 828.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 308,733 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $34,649,000 after buying an additional 275,497 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 97.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 354,711 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $52,866,000 after buying an additional 174,981 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LEN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Lennar from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lennar from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Lennar from $175.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lennar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $163.88.

Lennar Stock Performance

LEN traded up $1.43 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $151.62. The stock had a trading volume of 1,568,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,122,540. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $159.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.08. Lennar Co. has a 1 year low of $102.90 and a 1 year high of $172.59. The stock has a market cap of $42.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 5.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.36. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 11.59%. The business had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Lennar Co. will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Lennar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.02%.

Insider Activity

In other Lennar news, Director Amy Banse purchased 1,575 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $157.00 per share, for a total transaction of $247,275.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,861,863. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.36% of the company's stock.

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.