Westpac Banking Corp Cuts Stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Westpac Banking Corp cut its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,135 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 5,291 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in PulteGroup were worth $3,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,937,866 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,300,034,000 after buying an additional 683,592 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $556,465,000 after acquiring an additional 64,947 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at about $427,562,000. Amundi raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,636,562 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $180,775,000 after acquiring an additional 716,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 10.0% during 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 period. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

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PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PulteGroup stock traded up $0.02 on Tuesday, hitting $96.16. 656,067 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,965,633. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.58. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $95.14 and a 52 week high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 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%. Research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup declared that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 purchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on PHM shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised PulteGroup from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com lowered PulteGroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup cut their target price on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.86.

Insider Activity

In other PulteGroup news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total value of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

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.