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

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,960 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,537 shares during the quarter. 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 large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 5.5% in 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 102.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,297,630,000 after acquiring an additional 4,571,757 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 7.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 135,391 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 10.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 129,975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 6.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 60,854 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PHM stock opened at $105.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $112.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $125.93. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.24 and a 1-year high of $149.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $21.66 billion, a PE ratio of 7.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.43 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PHM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays dropped their price target 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. Citigroup dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Seaport Res Ptn cut PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

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.