Allstate Corp Purchases Shares of 6,249 PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Allstate Corp purchased a new position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 6,249 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,647,364,000 after purchasing an additional 585,735 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $427,562,000. Amundi increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,636,562 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $180,775,000 after buying an additional 716,716 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,424,119 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $155,856,000 after acquiring an additional 129,975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,351,491 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $147,177,000 after acquiring an additional 19,829 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PHM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of PulteGroup 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,727. The trade was a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $102.94 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.01. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.58 and a 12 month high of $149.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.00, a PEG 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.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 purchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup 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.