Lennar Corporation $LEN Stock Bought by North Dakota State Investment Board

North Dakota State Investment Board raised its position in Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) by 184.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,355 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 11,255 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board’s holdings in Lennar were worth $1,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEN. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,546,970 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $221,176,000 after buying an additional 419,745 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Lennar by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 601,468 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,231,000 after purchasing an additional 27,500 shares during the last quarter. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Lennar by 6,292.5% during the 2nd quarter. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. now owns 328,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,681,000 after purchasing an additional 322,869 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Lennar by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 313,354 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,212,000 after purchasing an additional 7,103 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 322.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 309,880 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,910,000 after purchasing an additional 236,524 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of LEN opened at $86.95 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.36. Lennar Corporation has a 1-year low of $71.78 and a 1-year high of $133.76. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.59. The company has a current ratio of 4.94, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 16th. The construction company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.06). Lennar had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 6.15%. The business had revenue of $8.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Lennar Corporation will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 7th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is 37.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on LEN. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Lennar from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Lennar from $79.00 to $70.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 18th. Argus set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Lennar from $85.00 to $69.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Lennar in a report on Thursday, October 1st. They set an “underweight” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and eleven have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $79.00.

Insider Activity at Lennar

In other Lennar news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 1,708,095 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $79.44 per share, with a total value of $135,691,066.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 28,438,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,118,294.80. This trade represents a 6.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have purchased 7,502,276 shares of company stock worth $595,303,287 over the last quarter. 10.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lennar Company Profile

Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) is a homebuilding and real estate company that develops, constructs, and sells primarily single-family homes. The company offers homes across a range of price points and designs, including residences for first-time, move-up, luxury, and active-adult buyers. Its operations also include land acquisition and development, allowing Lennar to prepare communities and lots for residential construction.

In addition to homebuilding, Lennar develops multifamily rental properties and provides related financial services.