Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Boosts Stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 574,023 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 955 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.28% of PulteGroup worth $62,511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 622 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in PulteGroup by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,572 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup by 0.7% in the fourth 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 period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup by 2.4% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,050 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at $6,026,879.65. This 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 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PHM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PHM opened at $101.76 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.35 and a 1-year high of $149.47. The stock has a market cap of $20.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

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

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

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

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.