AIA Group Ltd Buys 3,639 Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

AIA Group Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 36.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,539 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 3,639 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Lennar were worth $2,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LEN. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Lennar by 551.1% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,824,684 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $191,793,000 after buying an additional 1,544,432 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Lennar by 6,297.0% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 662,277 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $98,706,000 after buying an additional 651,924 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Lennar by 47.6% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,501,257 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $168,486,000 after purchasing an additional 484,056 shares in the last quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Lennar in the 4th quarter worth about $39,991,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Lennar by 236.0% in the 1st quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 229,341 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $24,106,000 after purchasing an additional 397,951 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Stock Up 0.3 %

LEN stock opened at $152.99 on Friday. Lennar Co. has a twelve month low of $102.90 and a twelve month high of $172.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 5.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $159.62 and its 200-day moving average is $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.58 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.53.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.39 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 11.59%. Lennar’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Lennar Co. will post 14.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is 14.02%.

Insider Activity at Lennar

In other Lennar news, Director Amy Banse acquired 1,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $157.00 per share, with a total value of $247,275.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 11,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,861,863. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Lennar from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lennar from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Wedbush reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $144.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Lennar from $161.00 to $157.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lennar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.88.

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.