V Square Quantitative Management LLC Buys 430 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,523 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PHM. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the third quarter worth approximately $66,485,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM stock opened at $107.45 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $113.02 and a 200 day moving average of $126.35. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.24 and a 52 week high of $149.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.30, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. As a group, research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.43 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors 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 yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 5.98%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on PHM. Citigroup reduced their price target 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. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PulteGroup news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 56,617 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 over the last quarter. 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.