Man Group plc Purchases 571,251 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Man Group plc grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 136.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 988,963 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 571,251 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.48% of PulteGroup worth $107,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 622 shares of the construction company's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,572 shares of the construction company's stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,224 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,384 shares of the construction company's stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

PulteGroup Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of PHM traded up $1.57 on Friday, reaching $104.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,402,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,998,465. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. PulteGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $88.07 and a twelve month high of $149.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.91 billion, a PE ratio of 7.09, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $100.86 and a 200-day moving average of $111.25.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.10. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.10 EPS. Equities analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio is presently 6.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $151.00 to $141.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.69.

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.