Legal & General Group Plc Boosts Stake in PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,410,810 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,550 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.73% of PulteGroup worth $165,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its position in PulteGroup by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the construction company's stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR raised its position in PulteGroup by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 2,350 shares of the construction company's stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,672 shares of the construction company's stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,169 shares of the construction company's stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 1.0% during the third quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 10,520 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,390,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PHM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore raised their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of PulteGroup from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $159.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.71.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM stock opened at $119.06 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $22.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.23. The company's 50 day moving average is $119.08 and its 200 day moving average is $124.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.20 and a 52-week high of $144.49.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.40 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 16.41%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.57 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.06%.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In related news, Director Lila Snyder sold 3,339 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.18, for a total transaction of $391,264.02. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $414,817.20. This trade represents a 48.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Matthew William Koart sold 7,457 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $894,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 28,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,372,000. The trade was a 20.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

About PulteGroup

PulteGroup, Inc NYSE: PHM is a U.S.-based residential homebuilder that designs, constructs and sells single-family homes and develops master-planned communities. The company operates multiple national and regional brands that target different buyer segments, including first-time buyers, move-up buyers and active-adult customers. Its operations encompass land acquisition and development, home design and construction, community amenities and ongoing customer service and warranty programs.

PulteGroup markets homes under several well-known brands, such as Pulte Homes, Centex and Del Webb, among others, offering a range of product types from entry-level detached homes to larger, higher-end residences and age-restricted active-adult communities.

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