Wright Investors Service Inc. Has $3.18 Million Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Wright Investors Service Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,780 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,204 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $3,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PHM. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 9.5% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 55,196 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,313,000 after purchasing an additional 4,799 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $221,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in PulteGroup by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,505 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in PulteGroup by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 4,487 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in PulteGroup by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 70,856 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,969,000 after buying an additional 14,918 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PHM traded up $2.52 during trading on Thursday, reaching $108.67. 392,965 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,763,479. The company’s 50 day moving average is $110.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.93 billion, a PE ratio of 9.04, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.74 and a 52 week high of $121.07.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.97% and a net margin of 16.20%. The company’s revenue was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 6.81%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total transaction of $206,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 15,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PHM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lowered PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $93.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Raymond James boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Citigroup boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.47.

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.