Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Posted by MarketBeat News on May 25th, 2023

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM – Get Rating) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 294,038 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 14,145 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $13,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Denali Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 104.3% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 811 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 115.2% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,595 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PHM. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $68.00 to $83.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $51.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $54.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $47.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Finally, Credit Suisse Group lifted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.14.

Insider Activity

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In other news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.83, for a total transaction of $861,172.34. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 82,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,432,308.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.95, for a total transaction of $1,004,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 55,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,741,567.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.83, for a total transaction of $861,172.34. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 82,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,432,308.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 244,100 shares of company stock valued at $15,962,206. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PulteGroup Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of PHM opened at $65.76 on Thursday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.03 and a 52-week high of $70.54. 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’s fifty day moving average is $62.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.92. The stock has a market cap of $14.68 billion, a PE ratio of 5.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.33.

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

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 20th will be paid 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 0.97%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.51%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 6.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.