PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Shares Sold by Lake Street Advisors Group LLC

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC reduced its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,841 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 140 shares during the quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 74.1% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, JNBA Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the third quarter valued at $43,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % decrease in their position. 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 over the last quarter. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on PHM. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their price target on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM stock opened at $103.23 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. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.54 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $109.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.71. The firm has a market cap of $20.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.02, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict 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 buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

PulteGroup 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.