Jennison Associates LLC Sells 38,788 Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Jennison Associates LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 304,940 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 38,788 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Lennar were worth $41,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Lennar during the third quarter worth approximately $115,229,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Lennar by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,271,319 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $446,110,000 after purchasing an additional 589,553 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Lennar by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,250,626 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $308,696,000 after purchasing an additional 397,492 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Lennar by 258.3% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 494,848 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $92,774,000 after purchasing an additional 356,731 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lennar by 23,048.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 150,462 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,209,000 after buying an additional 149,812 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on LEN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Lennar from $210.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America cut their target price on Lennar from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Lennar from $135.00 to $121.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Lennar from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.50.

Lennar Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:LEN opened at $128.36 on Wednesday. Lennar Co. has a 12 month low of $125.21 and a 12 month high of $193.80. The firm has a market cap of $34.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $145.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.93.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.15 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.06 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.82 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lennar Co. will post 12.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.95%.

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.