Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC Purchases Shares of 3,272 PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,272 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 32,496 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,539,000 after buying an additional 4,193 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,856 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PulteGroup during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 61,570 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,705,000 after buying an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 14,474 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,576,000 after buying an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. The trade was a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. The trade was 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 0.83% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $103.97 on Tuesday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.89. The firm has a market cap of $21.05 billion, a PE ratio of 7.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. PulteGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.54 and a twelve month 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 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%. Analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PHM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Bank of America dropped 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. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

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.