Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) Shares Purchased by First Pacific Financial

First Pacific Financial raised its position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 53.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 811 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the quarter. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in Lennar were worth $121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lennar during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Lennar in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lennar during the second quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar in the third quarter valued at about $56,000. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LEN shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Lennar from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Lennar from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Lennar from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Lennar from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Lennar from $137.00 to $136.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.69.

Lennar Stock Performance

LEN stock opened at $168.50 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.52. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.76. Lennar Co. has a fifty-two week low of $100.95 and a fifty-two week high of $168.61.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.36. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 11.59%. The firm had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 14.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 24th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. This is an increase from Lennar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 23rd. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.02%.

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.