AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Lowers Stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd trimmed its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 325,573 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 12,698 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned 0.16% of PulteGroup worth $35,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in PulteGroup by 115.1% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 185 shares of the construction company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. JNBA Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PHM. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.86.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,961,727. The trade was a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brien P. O'meara sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM stock traded down $0.79 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $104.81. The stock had a trading volume of 2,294,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,250,991. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $111.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.77. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $100.24 and a one year high of $149.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.13, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders 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 0.84%. PulteGroup's payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors 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.