DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Has $367,000 Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main decreased its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 80.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,369 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 13,981 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter worth about $427,562,000. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 77.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,636,562 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $180,775,000 after buying an additional 716,716 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in PulteGroup by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,937,866 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,300,034,000 after buying an additional 683,592 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP grew its position in PulteGroup by 118.8% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 783,581 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $85,332,000 after buying an additional 425,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in PulteGroup by 45.6% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,065,190 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $115,999,000 after acquiring an additional 333,361 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PHM. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $151.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PulteGroup news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 16.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of PHM opened at $102.57 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $88.07 and a 52 week high of $149.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.97, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $101.13 and a 200-day moving average of $111.92.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.86 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.21%.

PulteGroup declared that its board has initiated 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 reacquire up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.