Dean Investment Associates LLC Sells 2,220 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Dean Investment Associates LLC lowered its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,378 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,220 shares during the quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $2,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PHM. Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 210.5% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 16,799 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,829,000 after purchasing an additional 11,388 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its position in PulteGroup by 118.8% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 783,581 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $85,332,000 after buying an additional 425,492 shares during the last quarter. Kane Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $847,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,025,000. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $409,000. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $94.87 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $102.28 and a 200 day moving average of $116.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. PulteGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $88.07 and a twelve month high of $149.47. The firm has a market cap of $19.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.45, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup declared that its board has initiated a share 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 buy up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PHM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $117.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.21.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of PulteGroup 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 directly owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,727. The trade was a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 over the last three months. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.