OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Reduces Stock Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp reduced its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 21.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,475 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 5,123 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $2,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,937,866 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,300,034,000 after buying an additional 683,592 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,120,878 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $556,465,000 after acquiring an additional 64,947 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 4th quarter worth about $427,562,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,425,941 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $264,185,000 after acquiring an additional 315,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,859,029 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $202,448,000 after acquiring an additional 232,939 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PHM. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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 report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $151.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.69.

PulteGroup Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $102.78 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $100.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $88.07 and a 52-week high of $149.47. The company has a market cap of $20.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.99, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.37.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.86 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.21%.

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

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.