Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Sells 24,315 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP decreased its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 51.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,873 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 24,315 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP's holdings in PulteGroup were worth $2,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PHM. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 74.1% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 322 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 349 shares of the construction company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in PulteGroup during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PulteGroup stock traded down $0.79 on Friday, reaching $102.57. The stock had a trading volume of 1,157,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,998,551. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $88.07 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47. The business's 50-day moving average price is $101.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.09. 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 stock has a market cap of $20.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.37.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.86 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.10 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

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

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.21%.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total value of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Brien P. O'meara sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367 in the last ninety days. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on PHM. Evercore ISI upped their price target on PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Seven 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 currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.69.

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.