Royce & Associates LP Reduces Stock Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Royce & Associates LP trimmed its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 84,514 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 216 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $9,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PHM. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 74.1% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 444 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its position in PulteGroup by 642.2% during the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 475 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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 owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total transaction of $266,125.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 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 insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on PHM shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PulteGroup stock opened at $103.53 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.69. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $20.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.04, 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business 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 yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

PulteGroup 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.