EP Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 240 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,589 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 240 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,937,866 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,300,034,000 after purchasing an additional 683,592 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,120,878 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $556,465,000 after acquiring an additional 64,947 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth $427,562,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in PulteGroup by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,425,941 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $264,185,000 after acquiring an additional 315,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in PulteGroup by 77.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,636,562 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $180,775,000 after acquiring an additional 716,716 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE:PHM opened at $106.45 on Wednesday. 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 has a market capitalization of $21.34 billion, a PE ratio of 7.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.37. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.07 and a 12-month high of $149.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $101.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.70.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.86 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.10 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 6.21%.

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 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $151.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total value of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. This represents a 23.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

About PulteGroup

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.