LPL Financial LLC Acquires 39,321 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 390,579 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 39,321 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $42,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PHM. Citigroup decreased their target price on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays cut their price target on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PulteGroup news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

NYSE PHM opened at $101.76 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.35 and a 12-month high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results 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%. Analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.