Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Increases Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 103,233 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,405 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $11,366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PHM. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 54.7% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 232 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,329 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. increased its position in PulteGroup by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,092 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Patten Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 3,805 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,774 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction of $2,491,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 28,993 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.29, for a total value of $3,748,504.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 160,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,729,065.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 119,000 shares of company stock worth $15,814,039 in the last 90 days. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $143.53 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $30.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.62. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.80 and a 12 month high of $145.84.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its 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 net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 25.67%. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.00 EPS. PulteGroup’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 6.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on PHM shares. Raymond James increased their price objective on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $143.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $129.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on PulteGroup from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.71.

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.