Mount Lucas Management LP Sells 929 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Mount Lucas Management LP decreased its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,360 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 929 shares during the period. Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments bought a new position in PulteGroup in the third quarter valued at about $251,000. AIA Group Ltd purchased a new position in PulteGroup in the third quarter worth about $402,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in PulteGroup in the third quarter worth about $231,000. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,598 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PHM stock opened at $108.06 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $109.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.06. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $100.54 and a one year high of $149.47. The company has a market capitalization of $21.88 billion, a PE ratio of 7.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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 given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PulteGroup news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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. Insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup decreased their target price on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PulteGroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

PulteGroup Company 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.