Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) Shares Acquired by Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,973 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,263 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Lennar were worth $12,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Lennar by 6,297.0% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 662,277 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $98,706,000 after acquiring an additional 651,924 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Lennar by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,501,257 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $168,486,000 after purchasing an additional 484,056 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Lennar by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,544,345 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $734,477,000 after purchasing an additional 366,983 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Lennar by 828.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 308,733 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $34,649,000 after purchasing an additional 275,497 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Lennar by 97.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 354,711 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,866,000 after purchasing an additional 174,981 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Stock Performance

NYSE:LEN traded down $2.63 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $158.47. 1,362,133 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,046,213. Lennar Co. has a 1 year low of $102.90 and a 1 year high of $172.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 5.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.55.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $7.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Lennar Co. will post 14.46 earnings per share 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 1.26%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 14.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Lennar from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Lennar from $175.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Lennar from $137.00 to $136.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $144.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Lennar from $179.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lennar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lennar news, Director Amy Banse purchased 1,575 shares of Lennar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $157.00 per share, with a total value of $247,275.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 11,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,861,863. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 9.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.