PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Shares Sold by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. cut its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,893 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 241 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in PulteGroup by 74.1% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in PulteGroup by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 444 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. increased its stake in PulteGroup by 642.2% in the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 475 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. The trade was a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. 0.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PHM. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $103.53 on Wednesday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.54 and a 12 month high of $149.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its earnings results 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

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.