Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 77,189 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 32.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 316,811 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 77,189 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.16% of PulteGroup worth $34,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 622 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,572 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,224 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,384 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,050 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 in the last ninety days. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PulteGroup Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $105.33 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50-day moving average is $108.63 and its 200-day moving average is $122.45. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.33 and a 1 year high of $149.47.

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

PulteGroup declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 5.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PHM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PulteGroup has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

About PulteGroup

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.