Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $67.95 Million Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 624,015 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 33,598 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $67,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in PulteGroup by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 622 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,572 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,224 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,384 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in PulteGroup by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,050 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total transaction of $266,125.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 in the last 90 days. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PHM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE:PHM opened at $101.05 on Monday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $95.14 and a twelve month high of $149.47. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $106.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.46 billion, a PE ratio of 6.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. On average, analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 5.98%.

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.