Custom Index Systems LLC Purchases 427 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Custom Index Systems LLC boosted its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,876 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Logan Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 67.7% during the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,797 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,124,000 after acquiring an additional 5,976 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 121,299 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,410,000 after purchasing an additional 33,472 shares in the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 39.8% in the third quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 39,589 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,682,000 after purchasing an additional 11,269 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 3.9% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 130,257 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $18,696,000 after purchasing an additional 4,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 10,625.8% during the third quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after buying an additional 9,457 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PHM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM stock opened at $113.73 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $118.03 and its 200 day moving average is $127.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.39, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.67. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.24 and a 12 month high of $149.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.49%.

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

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.