PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Shares Sold by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lowered its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,611 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 180 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Logan Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 67.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 121,299 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,410,000 after buying an additional 33,472 shares during the period. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 39,589 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,682,000 after buying an additional 11,269 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 3.9% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 929.2% in the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 20,574 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,240,000 after buying an additional 18,575 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value 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. The trade was a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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 dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $103.23 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.54 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.02, 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 0.86. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $109.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.71.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 repurchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.85%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 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.