PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Shares Sold by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management trimmed its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 101,854 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 965 shares during the period. PulteGroup makes up about 0.7% of Meritage Portfolio Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $10,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PHM. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 186.5% in 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 bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 335.6% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 379 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PHM shares. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $93.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target (up from $120.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their target price 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, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.73.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PulteGroup Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE PHM traded up $2.41 on Friday, hitting $113.77. 819,692 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,815,900. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.86. PulteGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.70 and a twelve month high of $121.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.56. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $111.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.13.

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

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 6.41%.

PulteGroup announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.