Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Buys 1,473 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,647 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,473 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $3,555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 390,579 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $42,534,000 after acquiring an additional 39,321 shares during the period. Jackson Hill Advisors LLC boosted its position in PulteGroup by 59.2% in the fourth quarter. Jackson Hill Advisors LLC now owns 160,000 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,424,000 after purchasing an additional 59,500 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter valued at about $16,488,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 44.4% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 19,437 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,117,000 after purchasing an additional 5,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,160,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In other news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,980.80. The trade was a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total transaction of $266,125.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at $6,026,879.65. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $105.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $21.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $108.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.83. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $100.35 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup 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.