Advisors Capital Management LLC Sells 1,526 Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Advisors Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,228 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,526 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Lennar were worth $6,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Lennar by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,836 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,932,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,284 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $584,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in Lennar by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,220 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LEN shares. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $131.00 price objective (down from $159.00) on shares of Lennar in a research note on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Lennar from $141.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Lennar from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Lennar from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lennar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $150.07.

Lennar Stock Performance

NYSE LEN opened at $105.17 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.74 billion, a PE ratio of 7.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 4.71. Lennar Co. has a 52-week low of $98.42 and a 52-week high of $187.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.73.

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

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.57%.

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.