Summit Global Investments Lowers Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Summit Global Investments lowered its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 42.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,594 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 9,935 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments' holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Greenhaven Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,726,368 shares of the construction company's stock worth $591,076,000 after acquiring an additional 24,350 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup by 1.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,484,469 shares of the construction company's stock worth $406,125,000 after purchasing an additional 95,945 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in PulteGroup by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,432,965 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $328,261,000 after purchasing an additional 522,032 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,115,877 shares of the construction company's stock worth $230,731,000 after purchasing an additional 61,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 54.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,003,713 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $310,043,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060,466 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on PHM shares. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 target price (up from $120.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.73.

PulteGroup Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PHM traded up $2.79 during trading on Friday, hitting $116.64. 1,874,965 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,797,015. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $112.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.00. The firm has a market cap of $24.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.34, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.56. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.16 and a 1-year high of $121.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.81% and a net margin of 16.63%. The firm had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.63 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brien P. O'meara sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,586,452.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.