Insider Buying: Lennar (NYSE:LEN) Major Shareholder Buys $54,892,205.72 in Stock

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 695,014 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $78.98 per share, for a total transaction of $54,892,205.72. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 21,728,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,716,105,083. The trade was a 3.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, September 21st, Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 667,118 shares of Lennar stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $77.74 per share, with a total value of $51,861,753.32.
• On Friday, September 18th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 1,381,397 shares of Lennar stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $76.48 per share, for a total transaction of $105,649,242.56.

Lennar Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE:LEN opened at $81.58 on Thursday. Lennar Corporation has a 52 week low of $75.70 and a 52 week high of $133.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 4.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $83.96 and its 200-day moving average is $87.76. The firm has a market cap of $19.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.39.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). Lennar had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 6.15%. The firm had revenue of $8.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. Lennar’s quarterly revenue was down 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Lennar Corporation will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting Lennar

Here are the key news stories impacting Lennar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway accumulated approximately $212 million of Lennar shares. Berkshire bought 2.74 million shares across September 17–21, lifting its stake to roughly 10%. The purchases may support investor confidence by signaling that Berkshire sees long-term value in Lennar’s depressed valuation. CNBC article
• Positive Sentiment: Lennar declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share. The dividend for both Class A and Class B shares is payable October 22 to shareholders of record October 7, providing continued shareholder returns and an annualized payout of $2.00 per share. Dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: New land investments provide longer-term growth opportunities. Lennar paid $8 million for land in Sacramento’s South Natomas area and is advancing a 95-townhome project in Pebble Creek. These developments expand its pipeline but are unlikely to materially change near-term earnings. South Natomas land purchase
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter results missed expectations. Lennar reported EPS of $1.23 versus the $1.29 consensus, while revenue fell 8.7% year over year to $8.05 billion, below the $8.32 billion estimate. Heavy incentives are protecting affordability but weighing on margins and profitability. Lennar earnings call summary
• Negative Sentiment: Management cut its annual delivery forecast. Lennar now expects to deliver 80,000–81,000 homes, down from 82,000–83,000 previously, underscoring the impact of high mortgage rates and weak housing affordability. Delivery forecast article
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts remain cautious. Citigroup lowered its price target to $85 from $88, while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut its target to $75 and assigned an “underperform” rating. These actions reinforce concerns about demand, margins and near-term housing conditions. Citigroup price-target article

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Lennar by 1,276.4% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 757 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lennar by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,609 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,322,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Lennar during the 2nd quarter worth $317,000. Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lennar by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,873 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar in the second quarter valued at about $232,000. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Lennar from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Lennar from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Benchmark raised shares of Lennar to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Lennar from $85.00 to $69.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Lennar from $107.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and nine have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lennar currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Lennar Company Profile

Lennar Corporation is one of the largest homebuilders in the United States. Founded in 1954 and headquartered in Miami, Florida, the company designs, constructs, and sells single-family homes and communities for a range of buyers, including first-time, move-up, and active-adult purchasers.

Lennar operates across many of the country’s major housing markets, including communities in the West, Southwest, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and other metropolitan areas. Its homebuilding operations offer a variety of floor plans and home designs, while the company also develops residential communities and provides related services such as mortgage financing, title, and closing services through its financial-services businesses.

In addition to traditional homebuilding, Lennar has expanded into multifamily development and other residential real-estate activities.