PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp lowered its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,946 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 869 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $5,439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 valued at $2,124,000 after buying an additional 5,976 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 38.1% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 121,299 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,410,000 after buying an additional 33,472 shares in the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 39.8% in the third quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 39,589 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,682,000 after buying an additional 11,269 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its stake 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 boosted its position in PulteGroup by 929.2% during the fourth quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 20,574 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,240,000 after acquiring an additional 18,575 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on PHM. UBS Group boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

PulteGroup Trading Down 1.7 %

PulteGroup stock opened at $105.63 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $112.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.86. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.24 and a 52 week high of $149.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. Research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.43 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PulteGroup news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $6,026,879.65. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. Company 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.