AIA Group Ltd Buys Shares of 3,636 PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

AIA Group Ltd bought a new stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,636 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $375,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 753,768 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $78,030,000 after purchasing an additional 28,833 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 26,341 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,951,000 after purchasing an additional 5,257 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 224,978 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $16,660,000 after purchasing an additional 88,638 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,111,000. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,815,000. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE:PHM opened at $105.45 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $110.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.05. The company has a market cap of $22.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.98, a PEG ratio of 0.51 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. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.18 and a fifty-two week high of $121.07.

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

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total transaction of $206,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,586,452.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PHM. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Citigroup boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.47.

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.