PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM Shares Acquired by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 735,921 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,206 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.38% of PulteGroup worth $86,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PHM. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 573,065 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $67,387,000 after buying an additional 13,259 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 166.5% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,753 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,964,000 after buying an additional 10,467 shares during the period. Dorato Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,625,000. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 351.9% in the 3rd quarter. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. now owns 46,752 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,177,000 after acquiring an additional 36,407 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 43.2% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 91,473 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,726,000 after acquiring an additional 27,590 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PHM shares. Zacks Research raised shares of PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Seaport Research Partners restated a “sell” rating and set a $100.00 price target (down from $155.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Evercore raised their price target on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings cut PulteGroup from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on PulteGroup from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.71.

PulteGroup Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $127.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $120.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.13. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.45 and a 12-month high of $144.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.40 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 12.14%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 10.06%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, Director Lila Snyder sold 3,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.18, for a total value of $391,264.02. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,540 shares in the company, valued at $414,817.20. This trade represents a 48.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Matthew William Koart sold 7,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $894,840.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 28,100 shares in the company, valued at $3,372,000. This trade represents a 20.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Company Profile

PulteGroup, Inc (NYSE: PHM) is a U.S.-based residential homebuilder that designs, constructs and sells single-family homes and develops master-planned communities. The company operates multiple national and regional brands that target different buyer segments, including first-time buyers, move-up buyers and active-adult customers. Its operations encompass land acquisition and development, home design and construction, community amenities and ongoing customer service and warranty programs.

PulteGroup markets homes under several well-known brands, such as Pulte Homes, Centex and Del Webb, among others, offering a range of product types from entry-level detached homes to larger, higher-end residences and age-restricted active-adult communities.