ABC Arbitrage SA Buys New Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 23,178 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,524,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PHM. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 115.1% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 185 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, JNBA Financial Advisors bought a new position in PulteGroup during the third quarter worth about $43,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PulteGroup stock opened at $107.45 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $100.24 and a one year high of $149.47. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $113.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.30, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68.

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 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, equities research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.43 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PHM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,980.80. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at $6,026,879.65. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. 0.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.