Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC Buys New Stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 5,900 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $805,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its stake in Lennar by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 1,997 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at $532,000. Colonial River Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 3rd quarter worth about $317,000. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar during the 3rd quarter worth about $608,000. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Lennar by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 51,545 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,664,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of LEN stock opened at $125.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $33.24 billion, a PE ratio of 8.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $128.89 and a 200-day moving average of $157.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.71 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Lennar Co. has a one year low of $116.67 and a one year high of $187.61.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.15 by ($0.12). Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Lennar from $205.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. BTIG Research cut Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.88.

Lennar 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.