PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 63.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,722 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 13,302 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in PulteGroup were worth $797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. West Tower Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 90.9% during the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 441 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $91.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.47.

PulteGroup Stock Up 2.2 %

PHM stock traded up $2.51 during trading on Friday, hitting $116.35. 1,275,884 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,679,424. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.61. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.26 and a 1 year high of $121.07.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.78 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.81%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PulteGroup news, VP Brien P. O'meara sold 2,000 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

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.