National Bank of Canada FI Reduces Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

National Bank of Canada FI cut its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,585 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 18,511 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $12,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Logan Capital Management Inc. grew its position in PulteGroup by 67.7% in the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,797 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,124,000 after purchasing an additional 5,976 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 38.1% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 121,299 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,410,000 after acquiring an additional 33,472 shares during the period. Nilsine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 929.2% in the fourth quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 20,574 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after acquiring an additional 18,575 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in PulteGroup by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,559 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argyle Capital Management LLC boosted its position in PulteGroup by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 42,241 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,600,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

PulteGroup Trading Up 3.4 %

PulteGroup stock opened at $101.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $106.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.21. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $95.14 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The stock has a market cap of $20.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.87, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.98%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction 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 approximately $7,961,727. The trade was a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 in the last quarter. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.