Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 825 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 220,780 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 825 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.11% of PulteGroup worth $24,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Logan Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in PulteGroup by 67.7% during the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,797 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,124,000 after purchasing an additional 5,976 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 121,299 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,410,000 after purchasing an additional 33,472 shares during the period. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 39,589 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,682,000 after purchasing an additional 11,269 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 3.9% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 130,257 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $18,696,000 after buying an additional 4,840 shares during the period. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 10,625.8% during the 3rd quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,370,000 after acquiring an additional 9,457 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PulteGroup Price Performance

NYSE:PHM opened at $111.33 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $116.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $22.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.57, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.68. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $100.24 and a one year high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. Research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 0.79%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PHM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock 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 report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, January 31st. BTIG Research upped their target price on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

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.