Machina Capital S.A.S. Boosts Stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Machina Capital S.A.S. raised its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 57.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,119 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,958 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in PulteGroup by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,647,364,000 after purchasing an additional 585,735 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 102.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,297,630,000 after acquiring an additional 4,571,757 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 7.8% during the third 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 worth $267,546,000 after acquiring an additional 135,391 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,424,119 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $155,856,000 after acquiring an additional 129,975 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,351,491 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $147,177,000 after acquiring an additional 19,829 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PHM. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM opened at $108.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. PulteGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.54 and a twelve month high of $149.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $109.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.09.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.81%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.98%.

PulteGroup declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.