Crestline Management LP Buys Shares of 73,469 PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Crestline Management LP bought a new stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 73,469 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $8,001,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PHM. Nilsine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 929.2% during the fourth quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 20,574 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 18,575 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,559 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 42,241 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,600,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the period. Eastern Bank grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 142,740 shares of the construction company's stock worth $15,544,000 after purchasing an additional 6,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 416.0% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 12,775 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 10,299 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on PHM. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised PulteGroup from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $151.00 to $141.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $134.69.

PulteGroup Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of PulteGroup stock traded down $0.79 on Friday, hitting $102.57. 1,157,169 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,997,015. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $101.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.56 billion, a PE ratio of 6.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.37. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $88.07 and a one year high of $149.47.

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

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

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

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total transaction of $1,617,841.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total transaction of $266,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 56,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,026,879.65. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.