California Public Employees Retirement System Trims Stock Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 370,030 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 30,983 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.18% of PulteGroup worth $40,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 74.1% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 444 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its position in PulteGroup by 642.2% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 475 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PulteGroup news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 in the last quarter. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their target price on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America reduced their target price on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Up 1.2 %

PHM opened at $104.32 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.64. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.58 and a 52 week high of $149.47. The firm has a market cap of $21.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.09, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

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

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.