20,563 Shares in PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM Acquired by ABC Arbitrage SA

ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 20,563 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,411,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Rachor Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. High Point Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PHM. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $100.00 price target (down from $155.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on PulteGroup from $159.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings cut PulteGroup from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Bank of America lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.71.

PulteGroup Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of PHM opened at $115.44 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.99 billion, a PE ratio of 11.16, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.23. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $95.20 and a 12 month high of $144.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $122.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.49. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.01). PulteGroup had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 16.41%. The company had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.57 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 10 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 10.06%.

PulteGroup announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lila Snyder sold 3,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.18, for a total value of $391,264.02. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,540 shares in the company, valued at $414,817.20. The trade was 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, EVP Kevin A. Henry sold 5,173 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.03, for a total value of $729,548.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,069,333.19. This trade represents a 26.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup 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.