Trustmark National Bank Trust Department Sells 11,531 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Trustmark National Bank Trust Department lowered its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 29.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,058 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 11,531 shares during the period. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $3,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PHM. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 26,563 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,899,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 4,041 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $440,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at $224,000. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in PulteGroup by 91.0% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 13,516 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,472,000 after buying an additional 6,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in PulteGroup by 227.1% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 138,340 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $15,067,000 after buying an additional 96,049 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of PHM stock opened at $94.38 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $103.40 and a 200 day moving average of $117.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $88.07 and a 1-year high of $149.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.11 billion, a PE ratio of 6.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on PulteGroup from $117.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.64.

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.