The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Holdings in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its holdings in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 8.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,829,917 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 541,859 shares during the period. Lennar makes up approximately 0.8% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Lennar were worth $873,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lakewood Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Lennar by 0.8% in the second quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 9,385 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its holdings in Lennar by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 4,870 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $730,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lennar by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Lennar by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,540 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BBR Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Lennar by 3.4% during the second quarter. BBR Partners LLC now owns 2,427 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on LEN shares. Raymond James cut Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Lennar from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Zelman & Associates upgraded Lennar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on shares of Lennar from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $181.94.

Lennar Price Performance

LEN stock opened at $183.13 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $177.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.61. Lennar Co. has a 52-week low of $102.90 and a 52-week high of $193.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 4.90.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.14 billion. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 11.51%. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Lennar Co. will post 14.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.60%.

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.