Milford Funds Ltd. Buys Shares of 583,141 PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Milford Funds Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 583,141 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,379,000. PulteGroup accounts for 1.3% of Milford Funds Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Milford Funds Ltd. owned about 0.30% of PulteGroup as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PHM. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 12,517 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after buying an additional 2,128 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 197.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,212 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 804 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 8,519 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $898,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 29,060 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,065,000 after purchasing an additional 2,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 17.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 41,677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,395,000 after purchasing an additional 6,240 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE PHM opened at $123.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s fifty day moving average is $119.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.18. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.27 and a 52-week high of $144.49.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.40 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 12.14%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 10 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 6.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other news, COO Matthew William Koart sold 7,457 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $894,840.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 28,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,372,000. The trade was a 20.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lila Snyder sold 3,339 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.18, for a total transaction of $391,264.02. Following the sale, the director owned 3,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $414,817.20. This trade represents a 48.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PHM shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $159.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.71.

About PulteGroup

PulteGroup, Inc (NYSE: PHM) is a U.S.-based residential homebuilder that designs, constructs and sells single-family homes and develops master-planned communities. The company operates multiple national and regional brands that target different buyer segments, including first-time buyers, move-up buyers and active-adult customers. Its operations encompass land acquisition and development, home design and construction, community amenities and ongoing customer service and warranty programs.

PulteGroup markets homes under several well-known brands, such as Pulte Homes, Centex and Del Webb, among others, offering a range of product types from entry-level detached homes to larger, higher-end residences and age-restricted active-adult communities.