Candriam S.C.A. Purchases 431 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Candriam S.C.A. grew its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,555 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Logan Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 67.7% in the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,797 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,124,000 after acquiring an additional 5,976 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 38.1% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 121,299 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,410,000 after acquiring an additional 33,472 shares during the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 39.8% in the third quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 39,589 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,682,000 after acquiring an additional 11,269 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 3.9% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 130,257 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $18,696,000 after acquiring an additional 4,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 929.2% in the fourth quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 20,574 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,240,000 after acquiring an additional 18,575 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 equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the business’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 approximately $7,961,727. The trade was a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,980.80. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 over the last ninety days. 0.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PulteGroup Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $107.48 on Tuesday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.54 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. The company’s fifty day moving average is $109.46 and its 200-day moving average is $123.91. The company has a market capitalization of $21.76 billion, a PE ratio of 7.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.