Swiss National Bank Has $63.85 Million Stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Swiss National Bank lowered its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 586,300 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 38,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $63,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PHM. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 5.5% during the 3rd 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. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 102.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,297,630,000 after acquiring an additional 4,571,757 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 7.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 135,391 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 716,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 10.0% in the 4th 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 period. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PHM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup cut their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PHM opened at $103.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.54 and a 12-month high of $149.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $109.01 and a 200-day moving average of $123.13. The stock has a market cap of $20.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.00, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, equities research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.98%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In related news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,727. The trade was a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53 % 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 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

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.