Econ Financial Services Corp Invests $626,000 in PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Econ Financial Services Corp bought a new stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 5,341 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $626,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PHM. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in PulteGroup by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 5,594 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $656,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 78,956 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,258,000 after purchasing an additional 3,556 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,533 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $834,000. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $117.58 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.91. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $88.07 and a 1 year high of $144.49.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PHM shares. Barclays set a $115.00 price target on PulteGroup in a report on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded PulteGroup from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 11th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on PulteGroup from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of PulteGroup from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.71.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, COO Matthew William Koart sold 15,309 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.79, for a total value of $2,078,809.11. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 42,418 shares in the company, valued at $5,759,940.22. The trade was a 26.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.51, for a total value of $542,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,165,521.51. This trade represents a 31.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 149,952 shares of company stock valued at $20,162,165 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Profile

PulteGroup, Inc (NYSE: PHM) is a U.S.-based residential homebuilder that designs, constructs and sells single-family homes and develops master-planned communities. The company operates multiple national and regional brands that target different buyer segments, including first-time buyers, move-up buyers and active-adult customers. Its operations encompass land acquisition and development, home design and construction, community amenities and ongoing customer service and warranty programs.

PulteGroup markets homes under several well-known brands, such as Pulte Homes, Centex and Del Webb, among others, offering a range of product types from entry-level detached homes to larger, higher-end residences and age-restricted active-adult communities.