Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Buys Shares of 19,663 PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 19,663 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,141,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 102.3% during 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 period. Amundi raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 77.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,636,562 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $180,775,000 after purchasing an additional 716,716 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 5.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in PulteGroup during the 3rd quarter worth about $66,485,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 357.1% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $103.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.04, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $100.54 and a one year high of $149.47. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $122.69.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its 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, analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PHM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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. Barclays cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,727. The trade was a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 in the last ninety days. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.