AIA Group Ltd Trims Holdings in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

AIA Group Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 57.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,249 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 8,421 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Lennar were worth $852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Lennar in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in Lennar by 69.4% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 183 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lennar during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 136.7% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 232 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of LEN stock opened at $114.79 on Tuesday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $123.51 and a 200 day moving average of $150.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. Lennar Co. has a 1 year low of $111.26 and a 1 year high of $187.61.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.44. Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. The firm had revenue of $7.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.57 earnings per share. Lennar’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on LEN shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Lennar from $196.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. BTIG Research cut Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Lennar from $121.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lennar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $151.07.

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.