Bank of America Corp DE Sells 344,042 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Bank of America Corp DE cut its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,510,098 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 344,042 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $164,450,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PHM. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 622 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,572 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in PulteGroup by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,224 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,384 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 349 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $102.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.23. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $88.07 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.10. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.86 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.21%.

PulteGroup declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 repurchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PHM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $151.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.69.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,727. The trade was a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 over the last 90 days. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.