Tower Bridge Advisors Boosts Stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Tower Bridge Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 68,724 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 341 shares during the quarter. Lennar accounts for about 1.3% of Tower Bridge Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Tower Bridge Advisors’ holdings in Lennar were worth $12,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LEN. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Lennar in the third quarter worth $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lennar by 933.3% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 155 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Lennar in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in Lennar by 4,225.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 173 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Lennar by 523.3% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 187 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lennar Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:LEN opened at $168.85 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $179.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.88. The company has a market cap of $45.80 billion, a PE ratio of 11.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.62. Lennar Co. has a twelve month low of $125.17 and a twelve month 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.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The construction company reported $3.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $9.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.91 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Lennar Co. will post 14.18 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lennar

In related news, Director Jeffrey Sonnenfeld sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total transaction of $3,064,775.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,148,654.57. This trade represents a 42.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LEN shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 28th. Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their target price on Lennar from $171.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $144.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research note on Friday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Lennar from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $180.56.

Lennar 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.