Distillate Capital Partners LLC Sells 66,025 Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Distillate Capital Partners LLC lessened its stake in Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 30.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 150,445 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 66,025 shares during the quarter. Distillate Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Lennar were worth $20,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Lennar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lennar by 69.4% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 183 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lennar in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lennar during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Lennar in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.10% of the company’s stock.

Lennar Trading Up 0.7 %

Lennar stock opened at $105.17 on Friday. Lennar Co. has a 52-week low of $98.42 and a 52-week high of $187.61. The company has a market cap of $27.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.99.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.44. Lennar had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.10%. The company had revenue of $7.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.57 EPS. Lennar’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 EPS for the current year.

Lennar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Lennar’s payout ratio is 14.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LEN has been the subject of several analyst reports. BTIG Research cut Lennar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $131.00 target price (down previously from $159.00) on shares of Lennar in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Lennar from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Lennar from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Lennar from $141.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $150.07.

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.