abrdn plc Increases Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

abrdn plc lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 52.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 117,734 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 40,469 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned 0.05% of PulteGroup worth $12,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in PulteGroup by 186.5% during the third quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 490 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PulteGroup during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in PulteGroup by 3,463.6% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 392 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PHM opened at $111.36 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.13. The firm has a market cap of $23.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.92, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.56. PulteGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.41 and a twelve month high of $121.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.47 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.63% and a return on equity of 25.81%. The business’s revenue was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.63 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total transaction of $206,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,586,452.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PHM. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group downgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $93.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.73.

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.