State of Michigan Retirement System Purchases 100 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,269 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $8,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in PulteGroup by 102.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,297,630,000 after purchasing an additional 4,571,757 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,647,364,000 after purchasing an additional 585,735 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the third quarter valued at about $66,485,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 357.1% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 521,958 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $74,917,000 after buying an additional 407,764 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in 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. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PHM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the 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 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 sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 over the last ninety days. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $106.15 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $109.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.32. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.54 and a 1-year high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.