Friedenthal Financial Has $47,000 Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Friedenthal Financial cut its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 95.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 453 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 9,679 shares during the quarter. Friedenthal Financial's holdings in PulteGroup were worth $47,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at $163,931,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in PulteGroup by 29.4% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,850,407 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $203,232,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101,565 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in PulteGroup by 54.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,003,713 shares of the construction company's stock worth $310,043,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060,466 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 36.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,651,100 shares of the construction company's stock worth $152,982,000 after purchasing an additional 972,310 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,289,000. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In related news, VP Brien P. O'meara sold 2,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 15,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,586,452.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

PulteGroup Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE PHM traded up $0.31 on Friday, reaching $110.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,535,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,609,691. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $59.19 and a 52 week high of $121.07. The stock's 50 day moving average is $110.15 and its 200-day moving average is $96.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $23.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.56.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.07. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.97% and a net margin of 16.20%. The company had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.63 EPS. PulteGroup's revenue was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on PulteGroup from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of PulteGroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 2nd. Finally, Raymond James boosted 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.47.

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.