Insider Buying: Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Major Shareholder Purchases 667,118 Shares of Stock

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 667,118 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $77.74 per share, with a total value of $51,861,753.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,719,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,843,923,533.66. This trade represents a 2.89% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, September 18th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 1,381,397 shares of Lennar stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $76.48 per share, for a total transaction of $105,649,242.56.
• On Thursday, September 17th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 695,014 shares of Lennar stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $78.98 per share, for a total transaction of $54,892,205.72.

Lennar Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE LEN traded up $1.57 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $78.00. 4,945,274 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,793,928. The company’s 50-day moving average is $84.05 and its 200-day moving average is $88.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 4.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.39. Lennar Corporation has a 52-week low of $75.70 and a 52-week high of $133.76.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $8.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.32 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 6.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. Analysts expect that Lennar Corporation will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.81%.

Institutional Trading of Lennar

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lennar by 1,276.4% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 757 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lennar by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,609 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the period. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lennar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $317,000. Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,873 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $441,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lennar during the second quarter worth about $232,000. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on LEN shares. Citizens Jmp reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Lennar in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Lennar from $80.00 to $77.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Argus set a $108.00 target price on Lennar in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Lennar from $85.00 to $69.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Lennar from $77.00 to $70.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and ten have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $88.87.

About Lennar

Lennar Corporation is one of the largest homebuilders in the United States. Founded in 1954 and headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company designs, constructs, and sells single-family homes and communities for a range of buyers, including first-time, move-up, and active-adult purchasers.

Lennar operates across many of the country’s major housing markets, including communities in the West, Southwest, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and other metropolitan areas. Its homebuilding operations offer a variety of floor plans and home designs, while the company also develops residential communities and provides related services such as mortgage financing, title, and closing services through its financial-services businesses.

In addition to traditional homebuilding, Lennar has expanded into multifamily development and other residential real-estate activities.