TCW Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

TCW Group Inc. trimmed its position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 554,166 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 33,106 shares during the quarter. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Lennar were worth $82,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lennar in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Lennar during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Lennar in the third quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of Lennar by 34.3% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 497 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Lennar

In other Lennar news, Director Amy Banse purchased 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $157.00 per share, with a total value of $247,275.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 11,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,861,863. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Jeffrey Joseph Mccall sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.70, for a total transaction of $1,627,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 128,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,927,938.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Amy Banse bought 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $157.00 per share, with a total value of $247,275.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,861,863. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 9.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lennar Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:LEN traded down $1.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $154.52. 1,658,437 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,989,284. The firm has a market cap of $43.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 5.47 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Lennar Co. has a 1 year low of $102.90 and a 1 year high of $172.59. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.64.

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

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 14.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on LEN. Barclays upped their target price on Lennar from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Lennar from $224.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Lennar from $161.00 to $157.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Lennar from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Lennar from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average 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.