Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Decreases Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co reduced its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,875 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,937,866 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,300,034,000 after buying an additional 683,592 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,120,878 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $556,465,000 after purchasing an additional 64,947 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $427,562,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,425,941 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $264,185,000 after buying an additional 315,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 77.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,636,562 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $180,775,000 after acquiring an additional 716,716 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PHM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $151.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. The trade was a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total transaction of $266,125.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Trading Down 0.8 %

PulteGroup stock opened at $101.81 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $101.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $20.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.92, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $88.07 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.86 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 6.21%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About PulteGroup

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.