Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Sells 3,810 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. reduced its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,639 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,810 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $5,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. JNBA Financial Advisors bought a new position in PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in PulteGroup by 74.1% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM stock opened at $103.23 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $20.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $100.54 and a one year high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

PulteGroup declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PHM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PulteGroup news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total value of $1,617,841.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,727. The trade was a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.