29,132 Shares in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Purchased by Ruffer LLP

Ruffer LLP acquired a new stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 29,132 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,173,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in PulteGroup by 71.7% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 16,748 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,824,000 after purchasing an additional 6,992 shares during the last quarter. United Community Bank grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 5,749 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in PulteGroup by 77.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,636,562 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $180,775,000 after purchasing an additional 716,716 shares during the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth $483,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 36,695 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,996,000 after purchasing an additional 2,538 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PHM. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays decreased their target price on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at $6,026,879.65. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM opened at $108.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $21.88 billion, a PE ratio of 7.35, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. PulteGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.54 and a twelve month high of $149.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $109.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.09.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. As a group, research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup 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.