Royce & Associates LP Sells 216 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Royce & Associates LP cut its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,514 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 216 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $9,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PHM. Logan Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 67.7% in the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,797 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,124,000 after acquiring an additional 5,976 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 38.1% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 121,299 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,410,000 after purchasing an additional 33,472 shares during the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 39.8% in the third quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 39,589 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,682,000 after purchasing an additional 11,269 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 3.9% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 130,257 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $18,696,000 after buying an additional 4,840 shares during the period. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 929.2% during the fourth quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 20,574 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after buying an additional 18,575 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PHM. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,980.80. The trade was a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PulteGroup Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $103.53 on Wednesday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.54 and a 1-year high of $149.47. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $108.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.04, 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 current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.98%.

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

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.