Mackenzie Financial Corp Cuts Stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

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

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Conning Inc. bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth about $224,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth about $703,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth about $1,342,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 3,374 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 3,463.6% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 392 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE:PHM opened at $106.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $110.32 and its 200 day moving average is $97.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.55 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.56. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.95 and a fifty-two week high of $121.07.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,586,452.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PHM has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their target price on PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com downgraded PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.47.

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.