Private Trust Co. NA Has $78,000 Stock Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Private Trust Co. NA reduced its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 753 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 106 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $78,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PHM. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,606 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at $204,000. Colonial River Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at $412,000. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 90,169 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,307,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 6,058 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on PHM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective 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. StockNews.com cut shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.47.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PulteGroup stock opened at $109.40 on Thursday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.89 and a 12-month high of $121.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $109.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.55. The stock has a market cap of $23.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.56.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.63 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.81%.

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

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 15,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.