Central Bank & Trust Co. Grows Stock Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Central Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,387 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Lennar were worth $1,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Lennar by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 835 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lennar by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 16,459 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,244,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Polianta Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $900,000. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,121 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Lennar by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,284 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $584,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Price Performance

LEN stock opened at $141.55 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $152.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.49. 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 stock has a market cap of $38.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.66. Lennar Co. has a fifty-two week low of $128.41 and a fifty-two week high of $193.80.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.82 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lennar Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on LEN shares. Wolfe Research cut Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Lennar from $190.00 to $162.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Lennar from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of Lennar from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Lennar from $240.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.50.

Insider Activity

In other Lennar news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total transaction of $3,064,775.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,148,654.57. The trade was a 42.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

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.