ING Groep NV Grows Stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

ING Groep NV grew its holdings in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) by 257.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 113,247 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 81,545 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Lennar were worth $16,878,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,945 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its position in Lennar by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 13,160 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,477,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lennar by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 20,999 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,357,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its position in shares of Lennar by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 3,842 shares of the construction company's stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lennar by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 84,710 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $9,507,000 after purchasing an additional 7,376 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Lennar from $224.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lennar from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Lennar from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Lennar from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $163.88.

Lennar Stock Performance

LEN traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $165.88. 1,123,890 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,604,682. The company's 50-day moving average is $160.58 and its 200 day moving average is $149.69. Lennar Co. has a 52 week low of $102.90 and a 52 week high of $172.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.55. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $7.31 billion for 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 quarter last year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Lennar Co. will post 14.46 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Lennar's payout ratio is 14.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Joseph Mccall sold 10,000 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.70, for a total transaction of $1,627,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 128,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,927,938.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Lennar news, EVP Jeffrey Joseph Mccall sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.70, for a total value of $1,627,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 128,629 shares in the company, valued at $20,927,938.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Amy Banse acquired 1,575 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $157.00 per share, for a total transaction of $247,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,859 shares in the company, valued at $1,861,863. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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.

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