Vanguard Group Inc. Has $2.67 Billion Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 22,790,231 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 200,328 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.12% of PulteGroup worth $2,672,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 12,517 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 2,128 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 197.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,212 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 804 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup by 12.9% in the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 8,519 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $898,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in PulteGroup by 8.0% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 29,060 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,065,000 after purchasing an additional 2,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 17.6% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 41,677 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,395,000 after purchasing an additional 6,240 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In related news, COO Matthew William Koart sold 15,309 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.79, for a total transaction of $2,078,809.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 42,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,759,940.22. This trade represents a 26.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Marshall sold 111,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.86, for a total value of $14,891,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 659,392 shares in the company, valued at $88,266,213.12. The trade was a 14.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 149,952 shares of company stock valued at $20,162,165 in the last 90 days. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PHM shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup raised their price objective on PulteGroup from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on PulteGroup from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on PulteGroup from $159.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research raised PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.71.

PulteGroup Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $124.87 on Wednesday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $95.20 and a 12 month high of $144.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.73. The firm has a market cap of $23.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.33.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.40 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 12.14%.PulteGroup’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.57 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 6.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.06%.

PulteGroup Profile

PulteGroup, Inc (NYSE: PHM) is a U.S.-based residential homebuilder that designs, constructs and sells single-family homes and develops master-planned communities. The company operates multiple national and regional brands that target different buyer segments, including first-time buyers, move-up buyers and active-adult customers. Its operations encompass land acquisition and development, home design and construction, community amenities and ongoing customer service and warranty programs.

PulteGroup markets homes under several well-known brands, such as Pulte Homes, Centex and Del Webb, among others, offering a range of product types from entry-level detached homes to larger, higher-end residences and age-restricted active-adult communities.