Bellwether Advisors LLC Takes $2.29 Million Position in PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 19,542 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,291,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 2,350 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,672 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,169 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its position in PulteGroup by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 10,520 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PHM shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on PulteGroup from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on PulteGroup from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on PulteGroup from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.71.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, Director Lila Snyder sold 3,339 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.18, for a total value of $391,264.02. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $414,817.20. This trade represents a 48.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Up 1.2%

PulteGroup stock opened at $117.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $22.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $119.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.07. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $95.20 and a 12 month high of $144.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.40 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 12.14%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.57 EPS. Equities analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.06%.

PulteGroup announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.