Ellevest Inc. Trims Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Ellevest Inc. lessened its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,957 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 273 shares during the period. Ellevest Inc.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PHM. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 74.1% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,559 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,913 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 1,876.5% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 1,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,466 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,842,000 after acquiring an additional 2,192 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $102.57 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. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $88.07 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.56 billion, a PE ratio of 6.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $101.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.23.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.10. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors 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 0.86%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.21%.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PHM shares. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at $6,026,879.65. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

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.