PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Position Lowered by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP trimmed its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 24.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 183,751 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 58,045 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $20,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PHM. Algert Global LLC grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 3,633 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 56.9% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,078 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 2,567 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 31.5% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 5,784 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $830,000 after buying an additional 1,384 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,864,040 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $267,546,000 after buying an additional 135,391 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 8,617 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PHM. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

PulteGroup Trading Down 3.1 %

PulteGroup stock opened at $101.76 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.35 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $107.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.31. The firm has a market cap of $20.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. 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) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 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%. On average, research analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.98%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of PulteGroup 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 in the last quarter. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.