PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Shares Bought by CENTRAL TRUST Co

CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,141 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,806 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Logan Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in PulteGroup by 67.7% during the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,797 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,124,000 after acquiring an additional 5,976 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 121,299 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,410,000 after acquiring an additional 33,472 shares during the period. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department lifted its position in PulteGroup by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 39,589 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,682,000 after acquiring an additional 11,269 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its position in PulteGroup by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 130,257 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $18,696,000 after acquiring an additional 4,840 shares during the period. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 10,625.8% in the 3rd quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after buying an additional 9,457 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $109.37 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $22.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.43, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.73 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $117.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.46.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. As a group, equities analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PHM. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. One equities 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.