Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 16.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 277,957 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 54,251 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $30,270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 4.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,639 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,393,000 after purchasing an additional 901 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 9.2% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 10,943 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the third quarter valued at approximately $7,598,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 47.2% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 9,335 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 2,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 97.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 46,603 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,689,000 after purchasing an additional 22,982 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PHM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group increased their price objective on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Down 2.6 %

NYSE:PHM opened at $103.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $110.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $125.35. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.13 and a 52 week high of $149.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. Research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

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

PulteGroup declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. The trade was a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

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.