Generate Investment Management Ltd Acquires 13,203 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Generate Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 113,497 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 13,203 shares during the period. Generate Investment Management Ltd owned 0.06% of PulteGroup worth $12,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 102.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,297,630,000 after acquiring an additional 4,571,757 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 5.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,647,364,000 after purchasing an additional 585,735 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in PulteGroup in the third quarter valued at about $66,485,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 357.1% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 521,958 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $74,917,000 after purchasing an additional 407,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 1,020.0% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 435,925 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $62,568,000 after buying an additional 397,003 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PHM shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE:PHM opened at $109.89 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.14. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.24 and a 52-week high of $149.47. The company has a market cap of $22.54 billion, a PE ratio of 7.47, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.86.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management 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.