PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Position Trimmed by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,691,583 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 201,841 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.70% of PulteGroup worth $2,580,013,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup by 74.1% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 444 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 642.2% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 475 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

PulteGroup Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $105.28 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.31 billion, a PE ratio of 7.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.35 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $108.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.83.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly 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%. Analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,980.80. The trade was a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 over the last 90 days. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.