Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Increases Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 574,023 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 955 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $62,511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 95,439 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $10,393,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at $1,948,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter valued at $427,562,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth $1,235,000. Finally, Homestead Advisers Corp raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp now owns 455,800 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $49,637,000 after buying an additional 17,400 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PulteGroup Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of PHM opened at $101.76 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $100.35 and a one year high of $149.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $107.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $20.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup 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 transaction, the director now owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup 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.