Swiss National Bank Has $63.85 Million Stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 586,300 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 38,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.29% of PulteGroup worth $63,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PHM. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 622 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,572 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,224 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,384 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 14,182 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,036,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:PHM opened at $103.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $109.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.13. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.54 and a 52-week high of $149.47.

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

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. 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 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group increased their price objective on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total value of $1,617,841.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,026,879.65. The trade was a 4.23 % 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 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

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.