Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 93,555 Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 29.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 222,668 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 93,555 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.08% of Lennar worth $30,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Lennar Trading Up 0.2 %

LEN opened at $117.81 on Wednesday. Lennar Co. has a fifty-two week low of $111.26 and a fifty-two week high of $187.61. The company has a market cap of $31.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.71 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.27.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.44. Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. The business had revenue of $7.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 29th. Lennar’s payout ratio is 14.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on LEN. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Lennar from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. BTIG Research lowered shares of Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $131.00 price objective (down from $159.00) on shares of Lennar in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Lennar from $196.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $151.07.

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.