Sapient Capital LLC Has $20.03 Million Stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Sapient Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 106,823 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Lennar were worth $20,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Lennar by 21.5% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 23,775 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,089,000 after acquiring an additional 4,207 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services boosted its position in Lennar by 331.8% during the 1st quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 12,033 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,069,000 after acquiring an additional 9,246 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lennar in the first quarter worth $5,592,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in Lennar by 544.6% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 34,248 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,890,000 after purchasing an additional 28,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in Lennar in the 2nd quarter valued at $477,000. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zelman & Associates raised Lennar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Lennar from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $205.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Lennar from $164.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $180.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $181.11.

Lennar Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE LEN opened at $178.48 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $49.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.61. Lennar Co. has a 1-year low of $102.90 and a 1-year high of $193.80. The company has a current ratio of 4.90, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $179.93 and a 200-day moving average of $166.18.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.28. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. The firm had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.91 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lennar Co. will post 14.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.60%.

About Lennar

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.