Jennison Associates LLC Increases Stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) by 97.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 354,711 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 174,981 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.12% of Lennar worth $52,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Coastline Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 80.8% during the fourth quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 24,515 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,654,000 after purchasing an additional 10,957 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $98,706,000 after buying an additional 651,924 shares during the last quarter. PGGM Investments grew its holdings in shares of Lennar by 16.3% during the third quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 88,872 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $9,974,000 after buying an additional 12,469 shares during the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,367,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Lennar by 7.0% in the third quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 1,808 shares of the construction company's stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lennar Trading Down 1.0 %

Lennar stock traded down $1.58 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $154.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,480,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,113,992. The firm has a market cap of $42.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 5.47. Lennar Co. has a 1 year low of $102.90 and a 1 year high of $172.59. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $159.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $143.48.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.39 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. On average, sell-side 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 issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Lennar's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LEN has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Lennar from $175.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Lennar from $137.00 to $136.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Wedbush reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $144.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Lennar from $161.00 to $157.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $163.88.

Insider Activity

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

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.