Moran Wealth Management LLC Sells 6,906 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Moran Wealth Management LLC trimmed its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 248,180 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 6,906 shares during the quarter. PulteGroup comprises 0.9% of Moran Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $27,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PHM. Ruffer LLP purchased a new position in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,173,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 71.7% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 16,748 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,824,000 after buying an additional 6,992 shares in the last quarter. United Community Bank raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. United Community Bank now owns 5,749 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $626,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in PulteGroup by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,636,562 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $180,775,000 after acquiring an additional 716,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Naviter Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $483,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,980.80. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 in the last three months. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of PHM opened at $108.06 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $109.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $21.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.35, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.54 and a 52 week high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

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.