Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM – Get Rating) by 38.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,641 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 10,595 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,433 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 728,006 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,300,000 after purchasing an additional 142,668 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 174,838 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,556,000 after purchasing an additional 33,834 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 144,076 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,560,000 after purchasing an additional 14,572 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 71.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 41,567 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,559,000 after purchasing an additional 17,264 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $67.42 on Tuesday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.03 and a 12 month high of $70.54. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $61.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $15.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.33.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The construction company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.27 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.22% and a return on equity of 31.03%. The company’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 9.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 6.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 16th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PulteGroup news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.83, for a total transaction of $861,172.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 82,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,432,308.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Ryan Marshall sold 98,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.27, for a total transaction of $6,396,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 645,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,136,614.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.83, for a total transaction of $861,172.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 82,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,432,308.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 244,100 shares of company stock worth $15,962,206. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $75.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $65.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. VNET Group reaffirmed a “maintains” rating on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $73.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $47.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.86.

About PulteGroup

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PulteGroup, Inc engages in the homebuilding business. The firm is also involved in mortgage banking and title and insurance brokerage operations. It operates through the Homebuilding and Financial services business segments. The Homebuilding segment includes operations from Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Washington.