Venturi Wealth Management LLC Raises Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,890 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,647,364,000 after purchasing an additional 585,735 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 102.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,297,630,000 after purchasing an additional 4,571,757 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,864,040 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $267,546,000 after purchasing an additional 135,391 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,424,119 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $155,856,000 after purchasing an additional 129,975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,025,276 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $147,158,000 after purchasing an additional 60,854 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total transaction of $266,125.00. Following the sale, the director now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PHM. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note 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 note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

PulteGroup Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $105.63 on Wednesday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.24 and a 52-week high of $149.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.93. The firm has a market cap of $21.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68.

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

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

About PulteGroup

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.