Financial Counselors Inc. Reduces Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Financial Counselors Inc. trimmed its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 21.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,117 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,094 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clear Street Markets LLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 90.9% in the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 441 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Baystate Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 186.5% in the 3rd quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 490 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $110.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $59.19 and a 1-year high of $121.07. The company has a market capitalization of $23.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.07.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $3.63 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 6.81%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 sale, the vice president now owns 15,389 shares in the company, valued at $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on PHM. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 2nd. UBS Group lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $93.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.47.

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.