PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Position Raised by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 39,433 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $4,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 54.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,003,713 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $310,043,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060,466 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 63.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,748,119 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $129,354,000 after acquiring an additional 679,582 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter worth $47,762,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 13.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,432,965 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $328,261,000 after purchasing an additional 522,032 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the third quarter valued at $27,738,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PulteGroup Stock Up 2.5 %

PHM opened at $116.64 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.53 billion, a PE ratio of 9.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.16 and a fifty-two week high of $121.07. The business has a 50-day moving average of $112.28 and a 200-day moving average of $101.21.

PulteGroup declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 15,389 shares in the company, valued at $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on PHM. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on PulteGroup from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.73.

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.