B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Makes New Investment in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,490 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $788,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PHM. Interval Partners LP purchased a new stake in PulteGroup during the 1st quarter valued at $1,206,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 2nd quarter valued at $629,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 54.4% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 188,787 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,771,000 after acquiring an additional 66,487 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 128.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 94,588 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $11,409,000 after purchasing an additional 53,175 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in PulteGroup by 3.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 331,553 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $39,993,000 after acquiring an additional 12,164 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PHM stock opened at $129.76 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $86.59 and a one year high of $149.47. The firm has a market cap of $26.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.57, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.83.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.25. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 25.30%. The company had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.90 earnings per share. PulteGroup’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 5.90%.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. This represents a 29.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.00.

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.