Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $4.73 Million Stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 31.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,431 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 10,416 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $4,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Logan Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 67.7% during the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,797 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,124,000 after acquiring an additional 5,976 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in PulteGroup by 38.1% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 121,299 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $17,410,000 after purchasing an additional 33,472 shares in the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department lifted its position in PulteGroup by 39.8% during the third quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 39,589 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,682,000 after purchasing an additional 11,269 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its stake in PulteGroup by 3.9% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 130,257 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $18,696,000 after buying an additional 4,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 10,625.8% in the 3rd quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after buying an additional 9,457 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.29.

PulteGroup Trading Up 4.8 %

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $118.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $118.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.24 and a 52-week high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.96 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 6.49%.

PulteGroup declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About PulteGroup

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.