Alliancebernstein L.P. Decreases Stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 48.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 552,944 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 519,468 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $60,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PHM. Logan Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 67.7% in the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,797 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,124,000 after acquiring an additional 5,976 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 38.1% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 121,299 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,410,000 after purchasing an additional 33,472 shares during the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC grew its position in PulteGroup by 929.2% in the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 20,574 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 18,575 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in PulteGroup by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,559 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argyle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 42,241 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,600,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on PHM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $101.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a fifty day moving average of $106.12 and a 200 day moving average of $120.21. The company has a market capitalization of $20.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $95.14 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its 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 return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,980.80. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of PulteGroup 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.