PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Shares Acquired by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 34.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,560 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,798 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PHM. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in PulteGroup in the second quarter worth about $29,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in PulteGroup by 91.5% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 427 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in PulteGroup in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Clear Street Markets LLC raised its position in PulteGroup by 90.9% in the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 441 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in PulteGroup in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on PHM. StockNews.com cut shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on PulteGroup from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group downgraded PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $93.00 to $120.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.47.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 15,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,586,452.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM opened at $105.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.56. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.18 and a fifty-two week high of $121.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50-day moving average is $110.49 and its 200-day moving average is $98.05.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.97% and a net margin of 16.20%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.63 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 6.81%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.