PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Shares Purchased by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,718 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,095 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $2,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Quantum Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter valued at $238,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,050 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $934,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter valued at $253,000. Finally, Conning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter valued at $224,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PHM shares. Barclays increased their target price on PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com lowered PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 2nd. Raymond James increased their target price on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Citigroup increased their target price on PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.47.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PulteGroup Trading Up 1.5 %

PulteGroup stock opened at $107.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $22.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.56. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $62.35 and a one year high of $121.07. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $110.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.67.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.20% and a return on equity of 25.97%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.81%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board 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.