Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) Shares Sold by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP reduced its stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 19.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 213,121 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 52,658 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Lennar were worth $29,063,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LEN. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Lennar in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lennar by 69.4% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 183 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lennar during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Lennar during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in Lennar by 136.7% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 232 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Stock Down 3.5 %

LEN stock opened at $113.83 on Friday. Lennar Co. has a one year low of $111.26 and a one year high of $187.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.94, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $124.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.33. 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 (NYSE:LEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.44. Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. The firm had revenue of $7.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 14.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on LEN shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $131.00 target price (down from $159.00) on shares of Lennar in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $158.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a report on Monday, March 17th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded shares of Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $151.07.

Lennar 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.