Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 52,430 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Federated Hermes Inc. lowered its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 62.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,462 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 52,430 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $3,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 74.1% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in PulteGroup by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 444 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 642.2% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 475 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target 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 decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $139.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PulteGroup news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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 $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,026,879.65. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. 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. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

NYSE:PHM opened at $94.38 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $103.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.89. The firm has a market cap of $19.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.42, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44. 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 one year low of $88.07 and a one year high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 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%. Research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its board has approved a stock 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 repurchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.