Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Buys 64,749 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 441,466 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 64,749 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 0.22% of PulteGroup worth $48,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,937,866 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,300,034,000 after purchasing an additional 683,592 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in PulteGroup by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,120,878 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $556,465,000 after acquiring an additional 64,947 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at $427,562,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,636,562 shares of the construction company's stock worth $180,775,000 after purchasing an additional 716,716 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,424,119 shares of the construction company's stock worth $155,856,000 after purchasing an additional 129,975 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PulteGroup Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of PHM traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $102.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,885,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,997,503. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $88.07 and a 1-year high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.10. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. The business had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. PulteGroup's payout ratio is 6.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PHM shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded PulteGroup from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $151.00 to $141.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $134.69.

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.