Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lowered its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 72.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 252,470 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 660,814 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $27,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PHM. FMR LLC grew its stake in PulteGroup by 102.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,297,630,000 after purchasing an additional 4,571,757 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in PulteGroup by 5.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in PulteGroup in the third quarter worth approximately $66,485,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in PulteGroup by 357.1% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 521,958 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $74,917,000 after purchasing an additional 407,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in PulteGroup by 1,020.0% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 435,925 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $62,568,000 after purchasing an additional 397,003 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM stock opened at $106.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.24, 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 has a fifty day moving average of $110.37 and a 200 day moving average of $125.14. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.54 and a 1 year high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to reacquire 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PHM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.