Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 8,008 Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,550,371 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,008 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.55% of Lennar worth $231,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LEN. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 6,297.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 662,277 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $98,706,000 after purchasing an additional 651,924 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,501,257 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $168,486,000 after acquiring an additional 484,056 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,544,345 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $734,477,000 after acquiring an additional 366,983 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 828.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 308,733 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $34,649,000 after acquiring an additional 275,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 97.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 354,711 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,866,000 after acquiring an additional 174,981 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Stock Performance

LEN stock opened at $158.47 on Thursday. Lennar Co. has a 1-year low of $102.90 and a 1-year high of $172.59. The firm has a market cap of $44.11 billion, a PE ratio of 11.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $160.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.69. The company has a current ratio of 5.47, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 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 company posted $2.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lennar Co. will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 23rd. Lennar’s payout ratio is 14.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on LEN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Lennar from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Lennar from $224.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Lennar from $161.00 to $157.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lennar from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Lennar from $179.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.88.

Insider Activity at Lennar

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

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.