State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Reduces Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 70,960 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 2,537 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in PulteGroup were worth $7,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PHM. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup by 17.2% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 565 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 5,002 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $718,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in PulteGroup by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 622 shares of the construction company's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in PulteGroup by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,572 shares of the construction company's stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PulteGroup news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brien P. O'meara sold 3,500 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,209,980.80. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on PHM. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America cut their price target on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Seaport Res Ptn cut PulteGroup from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PulteGroup stock traded down $2.80 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $103.04. 1,818,711 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,221,906. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.13 and a 52-week high of $149.47. The stock has a market cap of $20.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.68. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $111.18 and its 200 day moving average is $125.49.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. Analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

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.