Denali Advisors LLC Has $514,000 Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Denali Advisors LLC boosted its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 17.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,717 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 102.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,297,630,000 after buying an additional 4,571,757 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 5.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,647,364,000 after buying an additional 585,735 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in PulteGroup in the third quarter valued at approximately $66,485,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 357.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 521,958 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $74,917,000 after acquiring an additional 407,764 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 1,020.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 435,925 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $62,568,000 after acquiring an additional 397,003 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PHM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $104.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $21.14 billion, a PE ratio of 7.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.99. 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 $100.54 and a 52-week high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding 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 management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $372,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,980.80. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.75% 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.