United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund Makes New $730,000 Investment in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 6,700 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $730,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PHM. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in PulteGroup by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 622 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in PulteGroup by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,572 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,224 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,384 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,050 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PHM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America cut their price objective on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PulteGroup news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PHM stock opened at $105.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.31 billion, a PE ratio of 7.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.35 and a 12-month high of $149.47. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $108.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.83.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released 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 return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

PulteGroup declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.