Bridgewater Associates LP Increases Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Bridgewater Associates LP raised its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 118.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 783,581 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 425,492 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned approximately 0.38% of PulteGroup worth $85,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morse Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 26.2% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 9,735 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,020 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,191 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,051,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Aldebaran Financial Inc. increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 99.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 5,365 shares of the construction company's stock worth $770,000 after acquiring an additional 2,670 shares during the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co bought a new stake in PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at about $234,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 21.8% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,515 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 1,706 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In other news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total transaction of $266,125.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,026,879.65. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brien P. O'meara sold 3,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,209,980.80. The trade was a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $117.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised their target price on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $138.21.

PulteGroup Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE PHM traded up $2.01 on Friday, reaching $94.87. 2,870,580 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,996,144. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $102.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.74. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $88.07 and a 12 month high of $149.47. The company has a market cap of $19.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. 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.