Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Sells 28,482 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. trimmed its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 592,290 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 28,482 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.27% of PulteGroup worth $61,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in PulteGroup by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,748,609 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,162,667,000 after buying an additional 261,934 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in PulteGroup by 2.3% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,343,160 shares of the construction company's stock worth $604,439,000 after buying an additional 228,040 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its stake in PulteGroup by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,726,368 shares of the construction company's stock worth $591,076,000 after buying an additional 24,350 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 1.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,484,469 shares of the construction company's stock worth $406,125,000 after acquiring an additional 95,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 29.4% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,850,407 shares of the construction company's stock worth $203,232,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101,565 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on PHM. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of PulteGroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 2nd. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.47.

PulteGroup Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:PHM traded down $0.51 on Friday, reaching $105.45. 2,319,184 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,791,484. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.56. The company's 50 day moving average is $110.44 and its 200-day moving average is $97.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.18 and a 1-year high of $121.07.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.47 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.20% and a return on equity of 25.97%. PulteGroup's revenue for the quarter was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.63 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.81%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brien P. O'meara sold 2,000 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 15,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PulteGroup 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.