Norges Bank Acquires New Position in PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,979,641 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $466,653,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PHM. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in PulteGroup by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 573,065 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $67,387,000 after acquiring an additional 13,259 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in PulteGroup by 24.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 312,935 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,348,000 after acquiring an additional 61,009 shares during the last quarter. Dorato Capital Management acquired a new position in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $2,625,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in PulteGroup by 166.5% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,753 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,964,000 after acquiring an additional 10,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. raised its position in PulteGroup by 351.9% during the third quarter. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. now owns 46,752 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,177,000 after acquiring an additional 36,407 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Matthew William Koart sold 7,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $894,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 28,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,372,000. The trade was a 20.97% 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 the SEC website. Also, Director Lila Snyder sold 3,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.18, for a total transaction of $391,264.02. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $414,817.20. The trade was a 48.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PHM shares. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America cut their target price 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. Zacks Research upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $149.00 to $131.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.71.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE:PHM opened at $117.77 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $22.43 billion, a PE ratio of 11.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.23. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.20 and a 1-year high of $144.49.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.40 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 16.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.57 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 10 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 6.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 10.06%.

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.