Vista Investment Partners II LLC Invests $958,000 in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,797 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $958,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PHM. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 137 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 444 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 in the last quarter. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PHM stock opened at $108.06 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $109.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.06. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $100.54 and a one year high of $149.47. The company has a market capitalization of $21.88 billion, a PE ratio of 7.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PHM has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

PulteGroup Profile

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.