Marshall Wace LLP Sells 213,850 Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Marshall Wace LLP trimmed its position in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 86.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,224 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 213,850 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Lennar were worth $4,394,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LEN. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Lennar by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,271,319 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $446,110,000 after purchasing an additional 589,553 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Lennar by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,239,488 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $441,769,000 after buying an additional 515,378 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Lennar by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,250,626 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $308,696,000 after acquiring an additional 397,492 shares during the last quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC boosted its holdings in Lennar by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 514,970 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $70,226,000 after acquiring an additional 5,311 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Shore Management Inc. CT grew its position in Lennar by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 396,289 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $54,042,000 after acquiring an additional 42,949 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of LEN opened at $109.33 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $114.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.32. The company has a market cap of $28.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Lennar Co. has a twelve month low of $98.42 and a twelve month high of $187.61.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $7.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.57 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LEN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Lennar from $141.00 to $128.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Lennar from $141.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Lennar from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Lennar from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $150.07.

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.