Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Trims Stock Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lessened its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,607 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,569 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $4,749,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 74.1% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 41.9% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 444 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 642.2% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 475 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 in the last ninety days. 0.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PHM opened at $103.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.86 billion, a PE ratio of 7.00, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. PulteGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.35 and a twelve month high of $149.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $108.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.21. 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 (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

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

PulteGroup announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.