PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Shares Sold by Loomis Sayles & Co. L P

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lowered its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 16.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 127,144 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 24,840 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned 0.06% of PulteGroup worth $13,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Algert Global LLC increased its position in PulteGroup by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 3,633 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $521,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the third quarter worth $593,000. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 56.9% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,078 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 2,567 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 31.5% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 5,784 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in PulteGroup by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,864,040 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $267,546,000 after purchasing an additional 135,391 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PHM. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $101.76 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.35 and a 52 week high of $149.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $107.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.39. The stock has a market cap of $20.60 billion, a PE ratio of 6.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

PulteGroup declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total value of $1,617,841.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % 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. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

About PulteGroup

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.