Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 721 Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its stake in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 53,295 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 721 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Lennar were worth $9,992,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LEN. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Lennar by 23,048.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 150,462 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,209,000 after acquiring an additional 149,812 shares during the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lennar by 3.5% in the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,666,905 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $499,991,000 after purchasing an additional 89,896 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Lennar by 101.2% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,673 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,626,000 after buying an additional 4,363 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Lennar by 8.7% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 101,463 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $19,022,000 after acquiring an additional 8,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soditic Asset Management LLP raised its holdings in Lennar by 143.1% during the third quarter. Soditic Asset Management LLP now owns 29,290 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,491,000 after buying an additional 17,240 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lennar Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:LEN opened at $151.91 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.90, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.03. Lennar Co. has a 12-month low of $140.65 and a 12-month high of $193.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.61.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.14 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. Lennar’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.91 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lennar Co. will post 14.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on LEN shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Lennar from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Lennar from $183.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their price objective on shares of Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Lennar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lennar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $183.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total value of $3,064,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,689 shares in the company, valued at $4,148,654.57. The trade was a 42.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 9.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lennar Company 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.