Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,973 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lennar were worth $6,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Lennar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Lennar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Lennar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of Lennar stock opened at $115.09 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $30.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.03, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $126.09 and its 200 day moving average is $153.48. Lennar Co. has a 1 year low of $111.26 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $7.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.44 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.57 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 29th. Lennar’s payout ratio is currently 13.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LEN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Lennar from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Lennar from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Lennar from $135.00 to $121.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Lennar from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Lennar from $205.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.