Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,398 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 252 shares during the quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 115.1% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 185 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, JNBA Financial Advisors bought a new stake in PulteGroup in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total transaction of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PHM stock opened at $107.10 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.28, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.79. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $100.24 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 5.98%.

PulteGroup declared that its board has authorized a share 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 buy up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.