Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Sells 24,840 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P reduced its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 16.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 127,144 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 24,840 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $13,846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 622 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,572 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,224 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,440,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,384 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in PulteGroup by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,050 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, 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 have sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on PHM. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Seaport Res Ptn raised PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of PHM stock opened at $101.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.35 and a 12-month high of $149.47. 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 50-day moving average price of $107.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.39.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. 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.