Westpac Banking Corp Sells 5,291 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Westpac Banking Corp lessened its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 32,135 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 5,291 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $3,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PHM. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 6.1% during 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 boosted its position in PulteGroup by 1.3% during 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 bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $427,562,000. Amundi grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 77.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,636,562 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $180,775,000 after acquiring an additional 716,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,424,119 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $155,856,000 after purchasing an additional 129,975 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PHM. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM stock opened at $104.32 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.09, a PEG 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.58 and a 52 week high of $149.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.64.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 5.98%.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total transaction of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 in the last 90 days. Company 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.