BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Increases Holdings in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 312.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 95,187 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 72,120 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Lennar were worth $14,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LEN. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 3,704 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,053 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 38,044 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,670,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 8,361 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 4th quarter worth $240,000. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of Lennar stock opened at $182.06 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $165.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $160.98. Lennar Co. has a one year low of $102.90 and a one year high of $186.60. The stock has a market cap of $49.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 4.93.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 17th. The construction company reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $8.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.57 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.58% and a return on equity of 15.93%. Equities analysts expect that Lennar Co. will post 14.16 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 5th. Lennar’s payout ratio is currently 13.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LEN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Lennar in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Lennar from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Lennar from $237.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Wedbush raised shares of Lennar from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $144.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.13.

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.