Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 869 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,946 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 869 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $5,439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,639 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,393,000 after purchasing an additional 901 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 17.4% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,732 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 5.0% during the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 3,319 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,411 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC now owns 14,480 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,078,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PHM shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM opened at $105.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.66 billion, a PE ratio of 7.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.24 and a 1-year high of $149.47. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $112.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.93. 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 announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. On average, equities research analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.43 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Company 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.