Eads & Heald Wealth Management Invests $253,000 in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Eads & Heald Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,453 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 753,768 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $78,030,000 after buying an additional 28,833 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 26,341 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,951,000 after acquiring an additional 5,257 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 224,978 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $16,660,000 after acquiring an additional 88,638 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth about $2,815,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,517 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 15,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PulteGroup Stock Down 3.0 %

PHM traded down $3.22 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $105.57. 440,496 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,772,132. The stock has a market cap of $22.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.56. PulteGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $59.95 and a twelve month high of $121.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $110.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.07. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.20% and a return on equity of 25.97%. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 6.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PHM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 2nd. UBS Group cut shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $93.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.47.

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.