ING Groep NV Purchases 127,739 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

ING Groep NV lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 460.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 155,493 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 127,739 shares during the period. ING Groep NV owned 0.08% of PulteGroup worth $16,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PHM. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,639 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,393,000 after purchasing an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,624 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,817,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,565 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 10,943 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axecap Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,975,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE PHM opened at $105.80 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.13 and a 52-week high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $21.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $111.47 and a 200-day moving average of $125.63.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, 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 value 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 $1,209,980.80. The trade was a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

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.