Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Acquires Shares of 39,598 Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 39,598 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,400,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LEN. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $115,229,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Lennar by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,271,319 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $446,110,000 after buying an additional 589,553 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Lennar by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,250,626 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $308,696,000 after buying an additional 397,492 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in Lennar by 2,774.5% in the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 123,142 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $16,793,000 after buying an additional 118,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prana Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 68.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 288,661 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $54,118,000 after acquiring an additional 117,430 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of LEN stock opened at $118.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $126.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.46 billion, a PE ratio of 8.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. 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 52 week low of $115.61 and a 52 week high of $187.61.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.15 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.06 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th were paid 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 dividend yield of 1.69%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on LEN shares. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Lennar from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research cut Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Lennar from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Lennar from $196.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Fourteen investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.53.

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.