PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Shares Sold by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,042 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 556 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PHM. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 102.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,297,630,000 after buying an additional 4,571,757 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in PulteGroup by 5.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,647,364,000 after acquiring an additional 585,735 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in PulteGroup during the third quarter worth about $66,485,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 357.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 521,958 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $74,917,000 after purchasing an additional 407,764 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 1,020.0% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 435,925 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $62,568,000 after purchasing an additional 397,003 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of PHM opened at $108.06 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $100.54 and a one year high of $149.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $109.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $21.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71.

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

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

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PulteGroup news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on PHM shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

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.