PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Shares Sold by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management lowered its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 49,034 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 545 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $5,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PHM. FMR LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 102.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,297,630,000 after buying an additional 4,571,757 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in PulteGroup by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,647,364,000 after acquiring an additional 585,735 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the third quarter worth $66,485,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 357.1% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 521,958 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $74,917,000 after purchasing an additional 407,764 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 1,020.0% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 435,925 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $62,568,000 after purchasing an additional 397,003 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $110.44 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.24 and a 12-month high of $149.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $116.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.68.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PHM. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

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.