ING Groep NV Acquires 127,739 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

ING Groep NV raised its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 460.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 155,493 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 127,739 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $16,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PHM. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 4.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,639 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,393,000 after acquiring an additional 901 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 8.3% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,624 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,817,000 after acquiring an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 6.2% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,565 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $942,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 9.2% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 10,943 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares during the period. Finally, Axecap Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the third quarter valued at about $2,975,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PHM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup decreased their price objective 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. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In related news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 56,617 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. 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 0.83% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM opened at $105.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $21.42 billion, a PE ratio of 7.19, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.13 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.63.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. Analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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 buy up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.