Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Buys 5,050 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 273.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,900 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,050 shares during the quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PHM. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 4.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,639 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,393,000 after buying an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in PulteGroup by 17.4% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,732 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in PulteGroup by 0.8% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 22,181 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,184,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in PulteGroup by 26.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,945 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN increased its position in PulteGroup by 5.0% in the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 3,319 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PHM. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of PHM opened at $107.45 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.24 and a 12-month high of $149.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $112.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.12.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its 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%. Equities research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.43 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

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

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In related news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total value of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,727. The trade was a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,026,879.65. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 over the last three months. 0.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.