Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Lowers Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lessened its stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,587 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 171 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Lennar were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LEN. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. grew its position in Lennar by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 15,376 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,097,000 after acquiring an additional 1,372 shares during the period. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT grew its holdings in shares of Lennar by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 396,289 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $54,042,000 after purchasing an additional 42,949 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. increased its position in Lennar by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 5,055 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Lennar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $973,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Lennar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,364,000. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LEN opened at $118.09 on Friday. Lennar Co. has a 12-month low of $111.26 and a 12-month high of $187.61. The company has a market cap of $31.35 billion, a PE ratio of 8.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.79. The company has a current ratio of 4.71, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $7.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.44 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th were given 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 dividend yield of 1.69%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LEN. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Lennar from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Barclays reduced their price objective on Lennar from $121.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Lennar from $141.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Lennar from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Lennar from $183.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lennar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $151.07.

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.