KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $19.36 Million Investment in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 141,994 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,364,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lennar by 69.4% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 183 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 51.0% during the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 234 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennar Trading Down 4.1 %

NYSE:LEN opened at $115.09 on Monday. Lennar Co. has a one year low of $111.26 and a one year high of $187.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 4.71. The firm has a market cap of $30.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.13.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $7.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.44 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.57 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on LEN. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $158.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $152.00 to $141.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $196.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $190.00 to $162.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.53.

About Lennar

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.