W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. Makes New $329,000 Investment in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,190 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in PulteGroup by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 288,294 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $21,348,000 after buying an additional 41,868 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in PulteGroup by 1.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,995,056 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $147,734,000 after purchasing an additional 32,817 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 4.7% in the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 42,300 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 43.9% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 8,806 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 2,688 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 12.3% during the third quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,098 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PHM shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Zelman & Associates upgraded PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on PulteGroup from $116.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.73.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In other news, VP Brien P. O’meara sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,586,452.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PulteGroup Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of PHM traded up $2.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $116.64. 1,874,965 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,797,015. The company has a market cap of $24.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.16 and a 12-month high of $121.07.

PulteGroup declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.