Custom Index Systems LLC Buys 427 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Custom Index Systems LLC grew its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,876 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 102.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,297,630,000 after acquiring an additional 4,571,757 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,647,364,000 after purchasing an additional 585,735 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at $66,485,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in PulteGroup by 357.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 521,958 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $74,917,000 after buying an additional 407,764 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 1,020.0% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 435,925 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $62,568,000 after buying an additional 397,003 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Trading Down 4.0 %

NYSE:PHM opened at $113.73 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.24 and a 52 week high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $118.03 and its 200-day moving average is $127.42. The firm has a market cap of $23.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.67.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 25.30%. Equities analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is presently 6.49%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PHM shares. Evercore ISI cut their target price on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

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.