Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Makes New Investment in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,371 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Lennar during the 4th quarter valued at $5,556,000. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Lennar during the 4th quarter valued at about $715,000. Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in Lennar by 47.9% in the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 17,649 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,407,000 after purchasing an additional 5,718 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its stake in shares of Lennar by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 1,852 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 10,400 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Stock Performance

Shares of LEN opened at $125.19 on Tuesday. Lennar Co. has a 1 year low of $116.67 and a 1 year high of $187.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.24 billion, a PE ratio of 8.73, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 4.71. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.12.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The construction company reported $4.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.15 by ($0.12). Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. The business had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Lennar’s payout ratio is 13.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LEN. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Lennar from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Lennar from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lennar from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Lennar from $196.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Lennar in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.88.

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.