Vanguard Group Inc. Has $2.58 Billion Stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,691,583 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 201,841 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of PulteGroup worth $2,580,013,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PHM. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 74.1% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 444 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 642.2% during the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 475 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PHM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,727. The trade was a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were 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 owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,026,879.65. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Trading Down 0.5 %

PHM stock opened at $105.28 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $108.34 and a 200-day moving average of $121.83. The company has a market cap of $21.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.16, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. PulteGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.35 and a twelve 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.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding 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 board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.