Vontobel Holding Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 112,792 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,590 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned about 0.05% of PulteGroup worth $12,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 185 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, JNBA Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,727. The trade was a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,026,879.65. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PHM shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $107.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.73. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.24 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The company has a market capitalization of $22.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $113.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.35.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.