Greenleaf Trust Increases Stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,330 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $472,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

PulteGroup Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of PHM opened at $110.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $117.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.35. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

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

PulteGroup announced that its board has approved a share 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 buy up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PHM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn lowered PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

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.