Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) Holdings Lifted by Ellsworth Advisors LLC

Ellsworth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 0.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,125 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 151 shares during the quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lennar were worth $2,417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Lennar by 21.5% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 23,775 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,089,000 after buying an additional 4,207 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its stake in Lennar by 177.3% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 31,258 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,659,000 after purchasing an additional 19,985 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services grew its stake in Lennar by 331.8% in the first quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 12,033 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,069,000 after purchasing an additional 9,246 shares in the last quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Lennar in the fourth quarter valued at about $838,000. Finally, Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in Lennar in the first quarter valued at about $5,592,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lennar

In other Lennar news, VP Mark Sustana sold 9,176 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.88, for a total value of $1,512,938.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 16,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,764,707.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LEN traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $171.76. 1,118,606 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,131,925. Lennar Co. has a 1-year low of $102.90 and a 1-year high of $182.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.60. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $160.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.09.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 17th. The construction company reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $8.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.57 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.93% and a net margin of 11.58%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lennar Co. will post 14.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James downgraded Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Wedbush upgraded Lennar from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $144.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Lennar from $157.00 to $154.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Lennar from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.13.

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.