State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Decreases Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 39.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,497 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 48,621 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $8,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PHM. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 54.7% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 232 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction of $2,491,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,931,462.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 28,993 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.29, for a total transaction of $3,748,504.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 160,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,729,065.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction of $2,491,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,931,462.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 119,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,814,039 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PHM. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $129.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Wolfe Research cut shares of PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $143.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.14.

PulteGroup Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $139.54 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $125.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.43. The company has a market cap of $29.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.62. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.80 and a 52-week high of $140.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.49 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 25.67%. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.00 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

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.