Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,432 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 129 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Logan Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in PulteGroup by 67.7% during the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,797 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,124,000 after purchasing an additional 5,976 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 121,299 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $17,410,000 after acquiring an additional 33,472 shares during the period. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department raised its stake in PulteGroup by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 39,589 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,682,000 after acquiring an additional 11,269 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its position in PulteGroup by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 130,257 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $18,696,000 after acquiring an additional 4,840 shares during the period. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC grew its stake in PulteGroup by 929.2% during the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 20,574 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 18,575 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Trading Up 2.3 %

PHM stock opened at $108.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $21.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.37, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. The business’s 50-day moving average is $109.51 and its 200 day moving average is $124.21. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.54 and a 12-month high of $149.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

PulteGroup declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup cut their price target on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total value of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.