Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Sells 539 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,710 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 539 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $10,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in PulteGroup by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,606 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP bought a new position in PulteGroup during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Colonial River Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in PulteGroup during the 4th quarter valued at $412,000. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 90,169 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,307,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 6,058 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on PulteGroup from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their target price on PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group downgraded PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $93.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total transaction of $206,180.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

NYSE PHM opened at $115.07 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.28 billion, a PE ratio of 9.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The business’s fifty day moving average is $109.68 and its 200 day moving average is $96.17. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.26 and a fifty-two week high of $121.07.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.47 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.97% and a net margin of 16.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.81%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Company Profile

PulteGroup, Inc, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the homebuilding business in the United States. It acquires and develops land primarily for residential purposes; and constructs housing on such land. The company also offers various home designs, including single-family detached, townhomes, condominiums, and duplexes under the Centex, Pulte Homes, Del Webb, DiVosta Homes, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, and American West brand names.