Madison Investment Advisors LLC Makes New $233,000 Investment in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 2,140 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Logan Capital Management Inc. increased its position in PulteGroup by 67.7% in the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,797 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,124,000 after purchasing an additional 5,976 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in PulteGroup by 38.1% in 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 last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its position in PulteGroup by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 130,257 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $18,696,000 after purchasing an additional 4,840 shares during the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC increased its position in PulteGroup by 929.2% in the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 20,574 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 18,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vision Capital Corp acquired a new position in PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter worth about $22,348,000. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total value of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM stock opened at $103.04 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $108.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.35 and a 12 month high of $149.47. The company has a market capitalization of $20.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71.

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

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PHM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.