Teacher Retirement System of Texas Raises Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 32.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 316,811 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 77,189 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in PulteGroup were worth $34,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake 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. FMR LLC raised its stake 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. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 7.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,864,040 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $267,546,000 after purchasing an additional 135,391 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 77.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,636,562 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $180,775,000 after purchasing an additional 716,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,424,119 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $155,856,000 after purchasing an additional 129,975 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PHM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,727. This 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 three months. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE:PHM opened at $105.33 on Friday. 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 simple moving average of $108.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.45. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.33 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The company has a market capitalization of $21.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted 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%. On average, analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

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

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.