Machina Capital S.A.S. Sells 6,065 Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Machina Capital S.A.S. lowered its position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 75.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,999 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 6,065 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Lennar were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LEN. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Lennar by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,544,345 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $734,477,000 after buying an additional 366,983 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Lennar by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,681,233 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $399,611,000 after purchasing an additional 79,217 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Lennar by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,700,016 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $253,319,000 after purchasing an additional 72,146 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Lennar by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,542,363 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $173,099,000 after purchasing an additional 6,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 47.6% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,501,257 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $168,486,000 after buying an additional 484,056 shares during the period. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of LEN traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $161.10. The company had a trading volume of 1,311,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,053,846. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $159.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 5.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.29, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.55. Lennar Co. has a 52-week low of $102.90 and a 52-week high of $172.59.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.36. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 11.59%. The business had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Lennar Co. will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 14.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LEN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Lennar from $179.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Lennar from $137.00 to $136.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Lennar from $175.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Lennar from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lennar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.88.

Insider Transactions at Lennar

In other Lennar news, Director Amy Banse acquired 1,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $157.00 per share, with a total value of $247,275.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 11,859 shares in the company, valued at $1,861,863. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

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.