Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Buys 2,263 Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 86,973 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,263 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Lennar were worth $12,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coastline Trust Co raised its holdings in Lennar by 80.8% during the fourth quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 24,515 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,654,000 after buying an additional 10,957 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Lennar by 6,297.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 662,277 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $98,706,000 after buying an additional 651,924 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments grew its position in shares of Lennar by 16.3% in the third quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 88,872 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,974,000 after purchasing an additional 12,469 shares during the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lennar in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,367,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Lennar by 97.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 354,711 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,866,000 after purchasing an additional 174,981 shares during the last quarter. 81.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lennar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEN traded down $2.63 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $158.47. The stock had a trading volume of 1,362,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,046,213. Lennar Co. has a 52 week low of $102.90 and a 52 week high of $172.59. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $160.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.69. 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 market capitalization of $44.11 billion, a PE ratio of 11.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.55.

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

Lennar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lennar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Amy Banse acquired 1,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $157.00 per share, for a total transaction of $247,275.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,861,863. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 9.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LEN shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lennar from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Lennar from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Lennar in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Lennar from $224.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Lennar from $161.00 to $157.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.