Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Sells 3,150 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lowered its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 61.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,947 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,150 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in PulteGroup by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 565 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in PulteGroup by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 5,002 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $718,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in PulteGroup by 16.7% during the 4th 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Trading Down 1.2 %

PHM stock opened at $106.01 on Thursday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $100.24 and a one year high of $149.47. The stock has a market cap of $21.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $113.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. Equities analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.43 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PHM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.