DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Has $9.66 Million Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 93,561 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $9,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 9,894 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after buying an additional 3,163 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at $3,313,000. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth about $2,270,000. Nilsine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth about $6,111,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total transaction of $206,180.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 15,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PHM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Raymond James increased their target price 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 reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.47.

PulteGroup Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $115.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a PE ratio of 9.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.26 and a 1 year high of $121.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $109.87 and its 200-day moving average is $96.46.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.47 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.20% and a return on equity of 25.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.63 EPS. Equities analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.81%.

PulteGroup Company 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.