Colonial River Investments LLC Purchases 167 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Colonial River Investments LLC boosted its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,186 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 167 shares during the quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $347,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in PulteGroup by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 10,943 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,598,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 97.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 46,603 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,689,000 after buying an additional 22,982 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 44,300 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,358,000 after buying an additional 7,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 67,191 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,644,000 after buying an additional 16,445 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of PHM opened at $103.04 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $20.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.13 and a 1 year high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

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

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PHM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PulteGroup news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total value of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,727. The trade was a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,026,879.65. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 over the last quarter. 0.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.