Stevens Capital Management LP Sells 867 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Stevens Capital Management LP trimmed its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,528 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 867 shares during the quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. CWM LLC grew its position in PulteGroup by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,449 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 2,609 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 25.6% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,237 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,869,000 after acquiring an additional 5,140 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 27,619 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 2,750 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in PulteGroup by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 859 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverwater Partners LLC purchased a new stake in PulteGroup during the 3rd quarter valued at $232,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PulteGroup stock traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $111.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,888,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,828,765. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $110.90 and its 200 day moving average is $99.05. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $64.41 and a one year high of $121.07.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.47 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.63% and a return on equity of 25.81%. PulteGroup’s quarterly revenue was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total transaction 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 approximately $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PHM shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on PulteGroup from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com upgraded PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (up previously from $120.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.73.

About PulteGroup

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.