Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $2.25 Million in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 15,100 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,251,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RFG Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Lennar by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,847 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in Lennar by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,144 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Lennar by 2.6% in the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,009 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in shares of Lennar by 10.6% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,100 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lennar by 4.2% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,810 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on LEN shares. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lennar in a research report on Friday, March 15th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Lennar from $175.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Lennar from $161.00 to $157.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Lennar from $224.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Amy Banse bought 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $157.00 per share, for a total transaction of $247,275.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 11,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,861,863. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Stock Down 2.3 %

LEN stock opened at $152.55 on Wednesday. Lennar Co. has a 12 month low of $102.90 and a 12 month high of $172.59. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.53.

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

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.02%.

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.