PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Shares Sold by Synovus Financial Corp

Synovus Financial Corp decreased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,219 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 349 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter valued at about $427,562,000. Amundi raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,636,562 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $180,775,000 after purchasing an additional 716,716 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,937,866 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,300,034,000 after purchasing an additional 683,592 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 3,118.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 376,717 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $54,070,000 after purchasing an additional 365,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup by 837.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 173,727 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $24,935,000 after buying an additional 155,204 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PHM. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.21.

PulteGroup Stock Down 0.7 %

PulteGroup stock opened at $94.81 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.25. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $88.07 and a one year high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 24.43%. As a group, equities analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 5.98%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total transaction of $266,125.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares in the company, valued at $6,026,879.65. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,727. This represents a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,191 shares of company stock worth $2,256,367. 0.76% of the stock is 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.