Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 19.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,854 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 964 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lennar were worth $798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in shares of Lennar by 2.2% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,075 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $577,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Lennar by 2.5% during the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $551,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Commerce Bank increased its holdings in Lennar by 0.5% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 15,074 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,826,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in Lennar by 69.4% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 183 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its holdings in Lennar by 51.0% during the fourth quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 234 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennar Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE LEN opened at $118.06 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.35 billion, a PE ratio of 8.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $127.53 and a 200 day moving average of $155.30. Lennar Co. has a 1 year low of $115.61 and a 1 year high of $187.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 4.71 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.15 by ($0.12). Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.82 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Lennar from $196.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lennar from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Lennar from $190.00 to $162.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Lennar from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Lennar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $165.93.

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.