Marshall Wace LLP Has $23.15 Million Stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Marshall Wace LLP cut its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 37.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 212,568 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 124,614 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.10% of PulteGroup worth $23,149,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 74.1% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in PulteGroup by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 444 shares of the construction company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 642.2% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 475 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O'meara sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 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 have sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PHM shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.43.

PulteGroup Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:PHM traded up $1.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $102.88. 1,940,173 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,997,254. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $101.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.50. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $88.07 and a one year high of $149.47. The company has a market cap of $20.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.10. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

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

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

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.