North Dakota State Investment Board Buys Shares of 6,742 PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,742 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $791,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in PulteGroup by 5.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,900,271 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,704,513,000 after acquiring an additional 609,640 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in PulteGroup by 13.3% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,623,917 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $478,828,000 after acquiring an additional 424,011 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in PulteGroup by 13.1% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,755,241 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $185,108,000 after acquiring an additional 202,870 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in PulteGroup by 120.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,703,049 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $225,024,000 after acquiring an additional 930,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in PulteGroup by 7.3% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,453,403 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $192,038,000 after acquiring an additional 99,067 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE:PHM opened at $116.35 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $22.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $119.54 and its 200-day moving average is $124.15. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.20 and a 1-year high of $144.49.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.40 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 12.14%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 10 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid 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%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on PHM. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on PulteGroup from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $149.00 to $131.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $159.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lila Snyder sold 3,339 shares of PulteGroup 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 transaction, the director directly owned 3,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $414,817.20. The trade was a 48.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin A. Henry sold 5,173 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.03, for a total value of $729,548.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,069,333.19. This represents a 26.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PulteGroup Company Profile

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.