Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Trims Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lowered its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 318,464 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,934 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.15% of PulteGroup worth $32,872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $163,931,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 29.4% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,850,407 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $203,232,000 after buying an additional 1,101,565 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 54.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,003,713 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $310,043,000 after buying an additional 1,060,466 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 36.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,651,100 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $152,982,000 after buying an additional 972,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,289,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Down 1.8 %

PulteGroup stock opened at $106.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.56. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.95 and a fifty-two week high of $121.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $110.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.71.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.47 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.97% and a net margin of 16.20%. PulteGroup’s revenue was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.63 earnings per share. Analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.81%.

PulteGroup announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, 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 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price target on PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on PulteGroup from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, UBS Group cut PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $93.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 15,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.