National Pension Service Sells 37,360 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

National Pension Service lowered its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 400,259 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 37,360 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.20% of PulteGroup worth $43,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,598,000. Financial Advocates Investment Management bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,040,000. HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 7,457 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 14,746 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,117,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,595 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PHM shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. 0.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PulteGroup Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of PHM opened at $103.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.54 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $109.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.71. The firm has a market cap of $20.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. On average, equities analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board 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.