Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 369 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,439 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $10,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at about $427,562,000. Amundi raised its position in PulteGroup by 77.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,636,562 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $180,775,000 after buying an additional 716,716 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,647,364,000 after acquiring an additional 585,735 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in PulteGroup by 3,118.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 376,717 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $54,070,000 after acquiring an additional 365,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 2,732.3% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 221,172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $31,745,000 after acquiring an additional 213,363 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total value of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,727. The trade was a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at $6,026,879.65. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on PHM. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $101.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.24. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.35 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The company has a market capitalization of $20.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. Research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.98%.

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.