Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 12,685 Shares of Lennar Corporation $LEN

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) by 16.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 88,408 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,685 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Lennar were worth $7,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 7.1% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC grew its position in Lennar by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 1,059 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its stake in Lennar by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 10,560 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. KDT Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lennar by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. KDT Advisors LLC now owns 4,654 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $587,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Lennar by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 17,725 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,822,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Stock Down 1.5%

Lennar stock opened at $82.53 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $87.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 4.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Lennar Corporation has a twelve month low of $79.82 and a twelve month high of $144.24. The company has a market capitalization of $19.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.38.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 11th. The construction company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.07. Lennar had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 7.08%. The company had revenue of $7.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. Lennar’s revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lennar Corporation will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Lennar’s payout ratio is presently 31.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Lennar in a report on Friday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Lennar from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 15th. BTIG Research set a $67.00 price objective on Lennar in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Lennar from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Lennar from $80.00 to $77.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and ten have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $92.80.

Lennar Profile

Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) is a U.S.-based homebuilder and real estate company that designs, constructs and sells residential housing. The company offers a range of product types including single-family detached homes, townhomes and condominiums, serving buyers from entry-level and first-time purchasers to move-up, active-adult and luxury segments. Lennar also develops master-planned communities and manages land acquisition and entitlement activities that support its homebuilding operations.

In addition to home construction and sales, Lennar provides a suite of ancillary services intended to streamline the purchase process and capture additional value.