PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Shares Sold by IFP Advisors Inc

IFP Advisors Inc lessened its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,086 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 703 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PHM. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 185 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in PulteGroup in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. JNBA Financial Advisors purchased a new position in PulteGroup in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $102.88 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $110.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.84. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.54 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 company has a market cap of $20.83 billion, a PE ratio of 6.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released 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 net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. Sell-side analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PHM shares. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays cut their target price on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

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.