Lennar Corporation $LEN Shares Sold by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) by 48.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 115,560 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 109,057 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Lennar were worth $10,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Viking Global Investors LP increased its position in Lennar by 86.7% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,523,594 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $279,135,000 after buying an additional 1,172,068 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 90.9% in the fourth quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 1,963,373 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $201,835,000 after acquiring an additional 934,856 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar during the fourth quarter valued at $95,941,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in Lennar by 1,303.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 490,105 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $50,383,000 after purchasing an additional 455,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Lennar by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,546,970 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $221,176,000 after purchasing an additional 419,745 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Price Performance

LEN opened at $82.53 on Monday. Lennar Corporation has a 1 year low of $79.82 and a 1 year high of $144.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 4.91.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 11th. The construction company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.08 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 7.08%. Lennar’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lennar Corporation will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Lennar from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Lennar from $80.00 to $77.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Lennar from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Lennar from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and ten have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $92.80.

About Lennar

Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) is a U.S.-based homebuilder and real estate company that designs, constructs and sells residential housing. The company offers a range of product types including single-family detached homes, townhomes and condominiums, serving buyers from entry-level and first-time purchasers to move-up, active-adult and luxury segments. Lennar also develops master-planned communities and manages land acquisition and entitlement activities that support its homebuilding operations.

In addition to home construction and sales, Lennar provides a suite of ancillary services intended to streamline the purchase process and capture additional value.