Meeder Asset Management Inc. Sells 19,505 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 25.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,913 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 19,505 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $5,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at $235,000. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at $224,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 103,294 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $10,662,000 after purchasing an additional 38,911 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 93,561 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $9,662,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 47.0% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 9,894 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,021,000 after buying an additional 3,163 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

PulteGroup Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of PulteGroup stock traded up $2.51 during trading on Friday, hitting $116.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,275,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,679,424. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.74. The company has a market capitalization of $24.55 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.56. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.26 and a 52 week high of $121.07.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.29 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.63 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.78 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.81%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 reacquire up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PHM shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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 upped 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. UBS Group lowered shares of PulteGroup from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $93.00 to $120.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.47.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In related news, VP Brien P. O'meara sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total transaction of $206,180.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,586,452.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by 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.