Florida Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 716 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Florida Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 24.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,703 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 6.3% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 19,524 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,803,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in PulteGroup by 29.1% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,660 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $669,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in PulteGroup during the third quarter worth $204,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 48,399 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,947,000 after buying an additional 4,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 3.3% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,586 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PHM shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com lowered PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup cut their price target on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 3,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of PulteGroup 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Up 3.1 %

PHM stock opened at $105.90 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.01. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.35 and a 52-week high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced 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, equities research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

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

PulteGroup declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in 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 board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.