Csenge Advisory Group Lowers Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Csenge Advisory Group trimmed its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 17.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,779 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,481 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $738,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PHM. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 102.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,297,630,000 after acquiring an additional 4,571,757 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,647,364,000 after acquiring an additional 585,735 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $66,485,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 357.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 521,958 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $74,917,000 after acquiring an additional 407,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 1,020.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 435,925 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $62,568,000 after buying an additional 397,003 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. 0.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PHM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their price objective on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM stock opened at $107.45 on Tuesday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.24 and a 1-year high of $149.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $112.63 and its 200 day moving average is $126.08. The company has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.30, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. Research analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

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.