Westover Capital Advisors LLC Sells 2,521 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Westover Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,151 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,521 shares during the quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PHM. FMR LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup by 102.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,297,630,000 after purchasing an additional 4,571,757 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 5.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter worth $66,485,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 407,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew 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 worth $62,568,000 after acquiring an additional 397,003 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PHM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Price Performance

NYSE PHM opened at $102.06 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $20.66 billion, a PE ratio of 6.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.54 and a 52 week high of $149.47. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.59.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. Research analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 5.98%.

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

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In other news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PulteGroup 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.