Picton Mahoney Asset Management Purchases 29,028 Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its position in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 144.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,127 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 29,028 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s holdings in Lennar were worth $7,321,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 6,297.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 662,277 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $98,706,000 after buying an additional 651,924 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lennar by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,501,257 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $168,486,000 after purchasing an additional 484,056 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,544,345 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $734,477,000 after purchasing an additional 366,983 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Lennar by 828.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 308,733 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $34,649,000 after buying an additional 275,497 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Lennar by 97.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 354,711 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,866,000 after buying an additional 174,981 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LEN traded down $2.63 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $158.47. 1,362,133 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,046,213. Lennar Co. has a twelve month low of $102.90 and a twelve month high of $172.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 5.47 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a market cap of $44.11 billion, a PE ratio of 11.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.55.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.36. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 11.59%. The company had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lennar Co. will post 14.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Lennar in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup upped their price target on Lennar from $179.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Lennar from $175.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Lennar from $161.00 to $157.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Lennar from $224.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lennar

In other news, Director Amy Banse bought 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $157.00 per share, with a total value of $247,275.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,861,863. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

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.