Vista Investment Partners II LLC Purchases Shares of 8,797 PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC purchased a new stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,797 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $958,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Logan Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 67.7% during the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,797 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,124,000 after acquiring an additional 5,976 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in PulteGroup by 38.1% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 121,299 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $17,410,000 after purchasing an additional 33,472 shares in the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department grew its stake in PulteGroup by 39.8% during the third quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 39,589 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,682,000 after buying an additional 11,269 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its stake in PulteGroup by 3.9% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 130,257 shares of the construction company's stock worth $18,696,000 after buying an additional 4,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 929.2% in the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 20,574 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,240,000 after buying an additional 18,575 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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PulteGroup Stock Performance

PHM traded down $2.63 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $100.90. The company had a trading volume of 2,211,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,868,499. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $109.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $123.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.54 and a 12-month high of $149.47. The stock has a market cap of $20.43 billion, a PE ratio of 6.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.71.

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

PulteGroup declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,209,980.80. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 56,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PHM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup reduced 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.86.

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.