Federated Investors Inc. PA Cuts Stake in Lennar Co. (LEN)

Federated Investors Inc. PA reduced its position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,720 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 24 shares during the period. Federated Investors Inc. PA’s holdings in Lennar were worth $417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LEN. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Lennar during the third quarter valued at $304,677,000. Ruffer LLP increased its stake in Lennar by 3,371.0% in the fourth quarter. Ruffer LLP now owns 1,662,608 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $71,722,000 after buying an additional 1,614,708 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Lennar during the fourth quarter valued at $62,363,000. Long Pond Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 31.4% in the third quarter. Long Pond Capital LP now owns 2,754,747 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $116,636,000 after buying an additional 658,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smead Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar during the third quarter valued at approximately $21,773,000. 79.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) traded up 0.23% during midday trading on Friday, hitting $52.01. 2,172,321 shares of the company were exchanged. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.72. Lennar Co. has a 52-week low of $39.68 and a 52-week high of $53.79.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 21st. The construction company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.03. Lennar had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 8.33%. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Lennar Co. will post $3.82 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 2nd will be given a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 28th. Lennar’s payout ratio is currently 4.07%.

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Several brokerages have commented on LEN. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (up from $53.00) on shares of Lennar in a research note on Monday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Lennar from $44.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 22nd. Deutsche Bank AG decreased their price objective on shares of Lennar from $52.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Lennar in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. The company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.78.

Lennar Company Profile

Lennar Corporation is a provider of real estate related financial services, commercial real estate, investment management and finance company. The Company is a homebuilder that operates in various states. Its segments include Homebuilding East, Homebuilding Central, Homebuilding West, Lennar Financial Services, Rialto and Lennar Multifamily.