Cetera Investment Advisers Lowers Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Cetera Investment Advisers trimmed its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 98,026 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 4,143 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in PulteGroup were worth $10,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 74.1% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 349 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in PulteGroup during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,727. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PHM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $151.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.69.

PulteGroup Price Performance

NYSE PHM opened at $102.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.97, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.37. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $88.07 and a 1-year high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $101.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.09.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.86 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.21%.

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.