LPL Financial LLC Grows Stock Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 331,214 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,808 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $36,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $381,960,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in PulteGroup during the first quarter worth about $68,985,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in PulteGroup by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,892,229 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $195,316,000 after acquiring an additional 523,623 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup by 130.2% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 388,298 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $46,837,000 after acquiring an additional 219,609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup by 40.9% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 733,804 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $88,511,000 after acquiring an additional 212,837 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on PHM. Barclays upped their price target on PulteGroup from $131.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on PulteGroup from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on PulteGroup from $143.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on PulteGroup from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PulteGroup news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other PulteGroup news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 119,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,814,039 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $139.54 on Monday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.80 and a fifty-two week high of $140.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $125.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $29.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.62.

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

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

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.