Bamco Inc. NY Acquires 17,834 Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Bamco Inc. NY raised its stake in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 711,023 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,834 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY’s holdings in Lennar were worth $133,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lennar during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in Lennar by 933.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 155 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lennar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 4,225.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 173 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Lennar by 223.6% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 233 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Trading Up 0.2 %

LEN opened at $174.39 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.90 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Lennar Co. has a fifty-two week low of $125.17 and a fifty-two week high of $193.80. The company’s 50-day moving average is $176.77 and its 200 day moving average is $169.72.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.28. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. The company had revenue of $9.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 14.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total value of $3,064,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,148,654.57. This represents a 42.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on LEN shares. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Lennar from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Lennar from $240.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their target price on Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Lennar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Lennar from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.29.

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.