Ballentine Partners LLC Increases Stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,538 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 781 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in PulteGroup during the first quarter valued at $26,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 54.7% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 232 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PHM stock opened at $132.70 on Wednesday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.80 and a 52 week high of $136.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.56. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.67% and a net margin of 16.75%. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PHM. Wolfe Research cut shares of PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on PulteGroup from $141.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $129.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PulteGroup news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total value of $9,573,873.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 89,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,043,420.09. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other PulteGroup news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total value of $9,573,873.81. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 89,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,043,420.09. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total value of $2,491,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 119,000 shares of company stock worth $15,814,039 over the last three months. 0.83% of the stock is 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.