Machina Capital S.A.S. Increases Stock Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Machina Capital S.A.S. increased its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 57.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,119 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,958 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.'s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $884,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes 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 buying an additional 4,571,757 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in PulteGroup by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,647,364,000 after buying an additional 585,735 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in PulteGroup during the 3rd quarter valued at $66,485,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in PulteGroup by 357.1% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in PulteGroup by 1,020.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 435,925 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $62,568,000 after buying an additional 397,003 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PulteGroup Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $108.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.35, 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $109.48 and a 200 day moving average of $124.09. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $100.54 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47.

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

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PHM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PulteGroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total transaction of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 56,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,026,879.65. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brien P. O'meara sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,980.80. This represents a 23.53 % 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 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.75% 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.

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