Kestra Investment Management LLC Purchases 141 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,923 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 185 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the third quarter worth $29,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. JNBA Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $105.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.13 and a 12-month high of $149.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $111.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.63.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is presently 5.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 over the last three months. 0.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

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.