Mackenzie Financial Corp Sells 70,859 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Mackenzie Financial Corp lessened its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 572,994 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 70,859 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned approximately 0.27% of PulteGroup worth $59,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Norges Bank bought a new position in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $163,931,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 29.4% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,850,407 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $203,232,000 after buying an additional 1,101,565 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 54.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,003,713 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $310,043,000 after buying an additional 1,060,466 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 36.3% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,651,100 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $152,982,000 after purchasing an additional 972,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,289,000. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM stock opened at $106.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $110.32 and a 200-day moving average of $97.71. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $59.95 and a 52 week high of $121.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market cap of $22.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.56.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.20% and a return on equity of 25.97%. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.63 EPS. PulteGroup’s revenue was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 6.81%.

PulteGroup declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $93.00 to $120.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.47.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 15,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.