PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Shares Bought by Inspire Advisors LLC

Inspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 36.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,051 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,396 shares during the quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vista Investment Partners II LLC acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at $958,000. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 9,868 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 6,764 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 28,096 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,060,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ruffer LLP acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at $3,173,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In other news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PulteGroup stock opened at $107.48 on Tuesday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.54 and a 12-month high of $149.47. The company has a market capitalization of $21.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $109.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.91.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PHM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.