New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 17,890 PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 17,890 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,948,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in PulteGroup by 5.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,647,364,000 after buying an additional 585,735 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $427,562,000. Amundi increased its stake in PulteGroup by 77.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,636,562 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $180,775,000 after purchasing an additional 716,716 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 10.0% during 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. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in PulteGroup by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,351,491 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $147,177,000 after purchasing an additional 19,829 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $101.76 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $20.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.92, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $107.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.24. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.35 and a 12-month high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. On average, research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of PulteGroup 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 transaction, the director now owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,980.80. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PHM. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

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.