PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Shares Bought by Leavell Investment Management Inc.

Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,838 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $201,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 145.9% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,098 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 3,025 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,639 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,393,000 after acquiring an additional 901 shares during the period. Kowal Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter worth about $259,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter worth about $273,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,732 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total value of $1,617,841.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. 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 over the last 90 days. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PHM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research increased their target price 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. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM opened at $107.45 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $100.24 and a one year high of $149.47. The company has a 50-day moving average of $113.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.35. The stock has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.30, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68. 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 (NYSE:PHM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.43 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 buy up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 5.98%.

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.