Forsta AP Fonden Has $4.73 Million Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Forsta AP Fonden trimmed its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,400 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $4,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in PulteGroup by 18.4% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 17.2% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 565 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 1.7% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 5,002 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $718,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 3.0% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,572 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM stock opened at $113.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $118.03 and its 200-day moving average is $127.42. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.24 and a 1 year high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. Sell-side analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This is a positive change from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

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.