Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Raises Stock Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 441,466 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 64,749 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 0.22% of PulteGroup worth $48,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PHM. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 74.1% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in PulteGroup by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 349 shares of the construction company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 444 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In related news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total transaction of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at $6,026,879.65. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 in the last three months. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on PHM shares. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.69.

PulteGroup Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of PHM traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $102.71. The stock had a trading volume of 520,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,993,795. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $88.07 and a 1-year high of $149.47. The company has a market cap of $20.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.98, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $101.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.22.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.10. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

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

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. PulteGroup's payout ratio is currently 6.21%.

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.