Amundi Purchases 716,716 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Amundi lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 77.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,636,562 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 716,716 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned approximately 0.80% of PulteGroup worth $180,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments bought a new position in PulteGroup during the third quarter worth about $251,000. AIA Group Ltd acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 3rd quarter worth about $402,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at about $231,000. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,598 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In related news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 approximately $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PulteGroup Price Performance

NYSE:PHM opened at $108.06 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.88 billion, a PE ratio of 7.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.54 and a 1-year high of $149.47. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given 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 0.81%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 5.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PHM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Bank of America dropped their price objective on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. 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. Citigroup dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Company 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.