Planned Solutions Inc. Makes New Investment in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,757 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 753,768 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $78,030,000 after buying an additional 28,833 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in PulteGroup by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 26,341 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,951,000 after buying an additional 5,257 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 224,978 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $16,660,000 after purchasing an additional 88,638 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,815,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its position in PulteGroup by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,517 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PHM has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on PulteGroup from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.87.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM stock opened at $118.01 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $107.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.66. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.63 and a 12 month high of $118.26. The stock has a market cap of $24.90 billion, a PE ratio of 10.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.56.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.47 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.97% and a net margin of 16.20%. PulteGroup’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 6.81%.

PulteGroup declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In related news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

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.