State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $7.73 Million Stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 70,960 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,537 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $7,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,647,364,000 after purchasing an additional 585,735 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 102.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,297,630,000 after purchasing an additional 4,571,757 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 7.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 135,391 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 10.0% during the 4th 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. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,025,276 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $147,158,000 after purchasing an additional 60,854 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total value of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,727. The trade was a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PHM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their target price on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America cut their target price on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Down 1.7 %

PHM opened at $105.63 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $112.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $125.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.73. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $100.24 and a one year high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. Equities research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.98%.

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.