Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Purchases 11,400 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 20.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 67,054 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,400 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $7,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $466,653,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in PulteGroup by 126.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,284,197 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $502,366,000 after acquiring an additional 2,392,580 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 5,485.0% in the fourth quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 930,622 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $109,125,000 after buying an additional 913,959 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,555,304 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,589,495,000 after acquiring an additional 655,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Milford Funds Ltd. bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,379,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $133.79 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $122.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.61. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $107.07 and a 52 week high of $144.49.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.01). PulteGroup had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 12.14%.The business had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.57 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 10.06%.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In related news, COO Matthew William Koart sold 7,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $894,840.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 28,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,372,000. This represents a 20.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lila Snyder sold 3,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.18, for a total value of $391,264.02. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,540 shares in the company, valued at $414,817.20. The trade was a 48.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PHM shares. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “sell” rating and set a $100.00 price target (down from $155.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $159.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.71.

About PulteGroup

PulteGroup, Inc (NYSE: PHM) is a U.S.-based residential homebuilder that designs, constructs and sells single-family homes and develops master-planned communities. The company operates multiple national and regional brands that target different buyer segments, including first-time buyers, move-up buyers and active-adult customers. Its operations encompass land acquisition and development, home design and construction, community amenities and ongoing customer service and warranty programs.

PulteGroup markets homes under several well-known brands, such as Pulte Homes, Centex and Del Webb, among others, offering a range of product types from entry-level detached homes to larger, higher-end residences and age-restricted active-adult communities.