State of Michigan Retirement System Acquires 100 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 81,269 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $8,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PHM. Logan Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 67.7% in the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,797 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,124,000 after buying an additional 5,976 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 121,299 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $17,410,000 after acquiring an additional 33,472 shares during the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 39,589 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,682,000 after acquiring an additional 11,269 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 130,257 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $18,696,000 after acquiring an additional 4,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 929.2% during the fourth quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 20,574 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 18,575 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE PHM opened at $106.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $109.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.32. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.54 and a 1 year high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total value of $1,617,841.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,980.80. The trade was a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

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.