Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Sells 539 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lowered its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 17.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,515 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 539 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 102.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,297,630,000 after acquiring an additional 4,571,757 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted 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 worth $1,647,364,000 after acquiring an additional 585,735 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in PulteGroup in the third quarter worth approximately $66,485,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 357.1% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 1,020.0% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 435,925 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $62,568,000 after acquiring an additional 397,003 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PulteGroup news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 over the last ninety days. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM opened at $105.89 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $109.40 and a 200 day moving average of $123.70. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.54 and a 12 month high of $149.47. The company has a market capitalization of $21.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.20, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

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

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.