Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Sells 1,223 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,495 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,223 shares during the quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $816,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. US Bancorp DE raised its position in PulteGroup by 2.9% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 14,746 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,117,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in PulteGroup by 60.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,975 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 1,493 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the third quarter worth $209,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in PulteGroup by 10.1% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 50,815 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,767,000 after acquiring an additional 4,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the third quarter valued at about $250,000. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In other news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $266,125.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 position. 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 quarter. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PulteGroup Stock Up 0.9 %

PulteGroup stock opened at $102.94 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.54 and a 52-week high of $149.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $109.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.45. The firm has a market cap of $20.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.00, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. Equities analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PHM. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup decreased their price target 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, 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PulteGroup has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

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.