Mount Lucas Management LP Sells 3,227 Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Mount Lucas Management LP reduced its stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 18.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,317 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,227 shares during the period. Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings in Lennar were worth $2,146,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Partners raised its stake in Lennar by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 23,775 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,089,000 after buying an additional 4,207 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 lifted its holdings in shares of 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. bought a new position in shares of Lennar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $838,000. Finally, Norden Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Lennar in the first quarter valued at approximately $5,592,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on LEN shares. StockNews.com lowered Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Lennar from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Lennar from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.06.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LEN traded up $1.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $179.42. The company had a trading volume of 2,252,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,078,108. The company has a market capitalization of $49.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.61. Lennar Co. has a 1 year low of $102.90 and a 1 year high of $186.60. The company has a current ratio of 4.93, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $168.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.00.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 17th. The construction company reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.18. The company 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 forecast that Lennar Co. will post 14.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 19th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 5th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is 13.60%.

Lennar Company 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.