Lennar Corporation $LEN Stock Position Lifted by North Dakota State Investment Board

North Dakota State Investment Board raised its stake in Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) by 184.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,355 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,255 shares during the quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board’s holdings in Lennar were worth $1,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LEN. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Lennar by 9.5% in the third quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 89,067 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,267,000 after buying an additional 7,759 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR grew its position in Lennar by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 23,728 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,936,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467 shares during the last quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Lennar by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 10,502 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 1,580 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lennar in the third quarter valued at about $342,000. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Lennar by 2.5% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,067 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Lennar

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 1,708,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $79.44 per share, for a total transaction of $135,691,066.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 28,438,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,259,118,294.80. This trade represents a 6.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 7,502,276 shares of company stock worth $595,303,287. 10.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LEN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Lennar from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, October 1st. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Lennar from $77.00 to $70.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Lennar in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. They set a “sell” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Lennar from $85.00 to $69.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and eleven have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $79.00.

Lennar Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of LEN stock opened at $86.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $20.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $81.09 and a 200-day moving average of $91.59. The company has a current ratio of 4.94, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Lennar Corporation has a 1-year low of $71.78 and a 1-year high of $133.76.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $8.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.32 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 6.15% and a net margin of 4.09%. Lennar’s revenue was down 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lennar Corporation will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 7th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 7th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.81%.

Lennar Profile

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) is a homebuilding and real estate company that develops, constructs, and sells primarily single-family homes. The company offers homes across a range of price points and designs, including residences for first-time, move-up, luxury, and active-adult buyers. Its operations also include land acquisition and development, allowing Lennar to prepare communities and lots for residential construction.

In addition to homebuilding, Lennar develops multifamily rental properties and provides related financial services.