Bank of Nova Scotia Buys 122,169 Shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN)

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in shares of Lennar Co. (NYSE:LEN - Free Report) by 120.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 223,311 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 122,169 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.08% of Lennar worth $30,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LEN shares. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $158.00 price objective on shares of Lennar in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Lennar from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Lennar from $121.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Lennar from $141.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded shares of Lennar from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.07.

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Lennar Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE LEN traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $106.25. 1,370,047 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,558,529. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 4.71. Lennar Co. has a one year low of $98.42 and a one year high of $187.61. The company's 50-day moving average is $118.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.73. The company has a market capitalization of $28.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.51.

Lennar (NYSE:LEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The construction company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $7.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.44 billion. Lennar had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Lennar Co. will post 12.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lennar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Lennar's payout ratio is presently 14.57%.

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.