Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Sells 303,044 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership cut its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 19.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,256,330 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 303,044 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $136,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PHM. Allianz SE bought a new position in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth about $583,000. Intrust Bank NA grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 2,738 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the period. Allstate Corp bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $681,000. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 35,906 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,910,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares during the period. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 30,867 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM stock opened at $101.76 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.60 billion, a PE ratio of 6.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $107.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.24. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.35 and a 52 week 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.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly 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 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 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

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

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

Insider Activity

In other PulteGroup news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the company’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 owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at $6,026,879.65. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 directly owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 in the last quarter. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on PHM shares. StockNews.com lowered PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.