Deutsche Bank AG Acquires 232,939 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,859,029 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 232,939 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $202,448,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PHM. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in PulteGroup by 74.1% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in PulteGroup by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 349 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on PHM. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer cut their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $151.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total value of $1,617,841.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of PulteGroup 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,980.80. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PHM stock opened at $102.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.97, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $101.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $88.07 and a 52-week high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.10. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. The business had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.86 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.10 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

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

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

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.