UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Purchases 169,736 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,033,776 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 169,736 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.99% of PulteGroup worth $221,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PHM. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 349 shares of the construction company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 642.2% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 475 shares of the construction company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PHM. Barclays lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $134.69.

PulteGroup Stock Down 2.8%

NYSE:PHM traded down $2.79 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $97.78. 407,984 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,004,785. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $100.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.62. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $88.07 and a one year high of $149.47. The company has a market cap of $19.60 billion, a PE ratio of 6.65, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.37.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the business posted $3.10 EPS. Equities analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. PulteGroup's payout ratio is 6.21%.

PulteGroup announced that its board has approved 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 purchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is 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.