Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 4,298 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,399 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,298 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $3,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in PulteGroup by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,290,631 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,296,170,000 after purchasing an additional 95,058 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the second quarter valued at approximately $404,339,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 27.2% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,199,906 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $337,462,000 after buying an additional 683,728 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 0.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,634,275 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $277,811,000 after acquiring an additional 23,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 13.1% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,755,241 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $185,108,000 after acquiring an additional 202,870 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on PHM. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $111.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $136.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $154.00 to $134.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $160.00 to $159.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on PulteGroup from $150.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.92.

PulteGroup Price Performance

NYSE:PHM opened at $133.28 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.11. The company has a market cap of $25.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.33. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $88.07 and a 52-week high of $142.11.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The construction company reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 14.93%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.35 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 16th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.01%.

About PulteGroup

PulteGroup, Inc (NYSE: PHM) is a U.S.-based residential homebuilder that designs, constructs and sells single-family homes and develops master-planned communities. The company operates multiple national and regional brands that target different buyer segments, including first-time buyers, move-up buyers and active-adult customers. Its operations encompass land acquisition and development, home design and construction, community amenities and ongoing customer service and warranty programs.

PulteGroup markets homes under several well-known brands, such as Pulte Homes, Centex and Del Webb, among others, offering a range of product types from entry-level detached homes to larger, higher-end residences and age-restricted active-adult communities.