Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Makes New $82,000 Investment in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 602 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Lennar by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 11,183 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,525,000 after purchasing an additional 2,483 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 21,340 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,910,000 after acquiring an additional 4,658 shares during the period. Sava Infond d.o.o. acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $649,000. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in Lennar by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 25,300 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,450,000 after acquiring an additional 3,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Lennar by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 375,538 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $51,028,000 after purchasing an additional 22,946 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of LEN opened at $113.83 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $124.05 and a 200-day moving average of $150.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.71 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $30.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. Lennar Co. has a 1 year low of $111.26 and a 1 year high of $187.61.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.44. Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The firm had revenue of $7.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LEN. Barclays decreased their price target on Lennar from $121.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Lennar from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Lennar from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. BTIG Research lowered shares of Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a research note on Monday, March 17th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $151.07.

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.