Farther Finance Advisors LLC Sells 598 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,377 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 598 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PHM. FMR LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup by 102.3% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,636,562 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $180,775,000 after buying an additional 716,716 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,647,364,000 after acquiring an additional 585,735 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,485,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 357.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 521,958 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $74,917,000 after purchasing an additional 407,764 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. The trade was a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE:PHM opened at $103.97 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.89. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.54 and a 1 year high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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, analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its board has authorized a share 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 reacquire up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on PHM shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group increased their price target on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup 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.