Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas Takes Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 3,741 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $386,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PHM. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in PulteGroup by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 753,768 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $78,030,000 after buying an additional 28,833 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 24.9% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 26,341 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,951,000 after purchasing an additional 5,257 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 65.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 224,978 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $16,660,000 after purchasing an additional 88,638 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth $6,111,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth $1,342,000. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 15,389 shares in the company, valued at $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on PHM. Barclays raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group cut shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $93.00 to $120.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.47.

PulteGroup Trading Up 4.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PHM traded up $4.98 on Tuesday, hitting $112.81. The company had a trading volume of 2,592,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,812,280. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.35 and a 1 year high of $121.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.47 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.20% and a return on equity of 25.97%. PulteGroup’s revenue was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.63 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 6.81%.

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.