Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Increases Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 60.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 103,294 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 38,911 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $10,662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Clear Street Markets LLC lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 90.9% during the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 441 shares of the construction company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Baystate Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 186.5% during the 3rd quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 490 shares of the construction company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PHM shares. UBS Group cut PulteGroup from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $93.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com cut PulteGroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on PulteGroup from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O'meara sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,586,452.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PulteGroup stock traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $110.89. 1,530,852 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,791,914. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.40 billion, a PE ratio of 9.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.56. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.19 and a fifty-two week high of $121.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.90. 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 (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.97% and a net margin of 16.20%. The firm had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.63 earnings per share. PulteGroup's revenue for the quarter was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup's payout ratio is currently 6.81%.

PulteGroup declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication 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.