Spire Wealth Management Boosts Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 256.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,634 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in PulteGroup by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 565 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners increased its stake in PulteGroup by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 5,002 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $718,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in PulteGroup by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 622 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PHM has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays cut 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. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PHM opened at $105.85 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $115.60 and a 200 day moving average of $127.02. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.24 and a 52-week high of $149.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $21.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.20, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.68.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 5.98%.

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.