Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV Trims Stock Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV cut its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 27.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 273 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 101 shares during the quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $30,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 74.1% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 444 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 642.2% during the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 475 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PulteGroup Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE:PHM opened at $103.04 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.35 and a 12 month high of $149.47. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $20.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.00, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In related news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total transaction of $266,125.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

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.