Summit Global Investments Purchases 33,210 Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Summit Global Investments boosted its stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 207.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,219 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,210 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Lennar were worth $7,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lennar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. Institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lennar

In related news, Director Amy Banse acquired 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $157.00 per share, for a total transaction of $247,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,861,863. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 9.36% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LEN traded up $2.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $154.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 701,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,072,698. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 5.47 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $159.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.95. Lennar Co. has a 52 week low of $102.90 and a 52 week high of $172.59.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.36. Lennar had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 11.59%. The company had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lennar Co. will post 14.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on LEN. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Lennar from $224.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lennar in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on Lennar from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Lennar from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lennar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.88.

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.