PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM Shares Sold by Geode Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management trimmed its PulteGroup stake by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, though it still held 5.21 million shares valued at about $608.7 million.
• Insider selling continued at PulteGroup, with director Lila Snyder and COO Matthew William Koart both reducing their holdings in recent transactions.
• PulteGroup reported Q1 earnings of $1.79 per share, slightly below estimates, while revenue came in at $3.41 billion; the company also authorized a $1.5 billion share repurchase program and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share.

Geode Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,210,744 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 31,811 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.71% of PulteGroup worth $608,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the construction company's stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR grew its stake in PulteGroup by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 2,350 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in PulteGroup by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,672 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in PulteGroup by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,169 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in PulteGroup by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 10,520 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,390,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other news, Director Lila Snyder sold 3,339 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.18, for a total value of $391,264.02. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $414,817.20. This represents a 48.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Matthew William Koart sold 7,457 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $894,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 28,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,372,000. This trade represents a 20.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PulteGroup stock opened at $118.38 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.02. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.20 and a 1-year high of $144.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $22.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.23.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.01). PulteGroup had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 16.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.57 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 10 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio is 10.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PHM. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $159.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $100.00 price objective (down from $155.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of PulteGroup from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.71.

About PulteGroup

PulteGroup, Inc NYSE: PHM is a U.S.-based residential homebuilder that designs, constructs and sells single-family homes and develops master-planned communities. The company operates multiple national and regional brands that target different buyer segments, including first-time buyers, move-up buyers and active-adult customers. Its operations encompass land acquisition and development, home design and construction, community amenities and ongoing customer service and warranty programs.

PulteGroup markets homes under several well-known brands, such as Pulte Homes, Centex and Del Webb, among others, offering a range of product types from entry-level detached homes to larger, higher-end residences and age-restricted active-adult communities.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.