California Public Employees Retirement System Has $72.35 Million Stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 485,411 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 18,888 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.17% of Lennar worth $72,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LEN. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lennar during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lennar in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lennar in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Lennar during the third quarter worth $56,000. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LEN opened at $154.12 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.53. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.48. Lennar Co. has a twelve month low of $102.90 and a twelve month high of $172.59.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.36. Lennar had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The business had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. Lennar’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lennar Co. will post 14.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is 14.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LEN. UBS Group lifted their price target on Lennar from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lennar from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Lennar from $224.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Lennar from $175.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Amy Banse purchased 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $157.00 per share, with a total value of $247,275.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,861,863. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 9.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.