First Horizon Advisors Inc. Cuts Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,981 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 96 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PHM. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,647,364,000 after acquiring an additional 585,735 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in PulteGroup by 102.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,297,630,000 after purchasing an additional 4,571,757 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in PulteGroup by 7.8% in the third 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 valued at $267,546,000 after purchasing an additional 135,391 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,424,119 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $155,856,000 after purchasing an additional 129,975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 6.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,025,276 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $147,158,000 after buying an additional 60,854 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PHM shares. StockNews.com downgraded PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Up 4.7 %

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $106.44 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $110.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.14. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $100.54 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47. The firm has a market cap of $21.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.24, 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.98%.

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.