PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Shares Sold by Fmr LLC

Fmr LLC cut its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 20.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,185,802 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,855,026 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $782,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PHM. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 74.1% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its position in PulteGroup by 642.2% during the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 475 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on PHM shares. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their price target on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM opened at $96.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.58. The stock has a market cap of $19.44 billion, a PE ratio of 6.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.14 and a 1-year high of $149.47. 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 (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. As a group, analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is presently 5.98%.

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

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,727. The trade was a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total transaction of $266,125.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 56,617 shares in the company, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.