Ritholtz Wealth Management Buys 4,612 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 18.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,205 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,612 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $3,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in PulteGroup by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 753,768 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $78,030,000 after purchasing an additional 28,833 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 26,341 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,951,000 after acquiring an additional 5,257 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 65.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 224,978 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $16,660,000 after buying an additional 88,638 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at $2,815,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 25.2% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,517 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares in the company, valued at $1,586,452.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PulteGroup Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PHM traded up $2.61 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $120.62. 1,623,335 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,827,531. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $107.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.83. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.63 and a 12 month high of $120.89.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.97% and a net margin of 16.20%. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is presently 6.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on PHM. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on PulteGroup from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $87.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.87.

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.