Blue Trust Inc. Sells 4,428 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Blue Trust Inc. reduced its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 74.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,517 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 4,428 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 565 shares of the construction company's stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in PulteGroup by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 5,002 shares of the construction company's stock worth $718,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the construction company's stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in PulteGroup by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 622 shares of the construction company's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,572 shares of the construction company's stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PHM shares. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PulteGroup stock traded down $2.80 on Friday, reaching $103.04. 1,818,711 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,221,906. The firm's 50 day moving average is $111.18 and its 200-day moving average is $125.49. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $101.13 and a one year high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $20.86 billion, a PE ratio of 7.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.68.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. As a group, analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup's payout ratio is 5.98%.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In related news, VP Brien P. O'meara sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $372,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,209,980.80. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of PulteGroup 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 transaction, the director now owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

PulteGroup 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.