CWA Asset Management Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,364 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 2,860 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $5,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 102.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,297,630,000 after acquiring an additional 4,571,757 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 5.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,647,364,000 after purchasing an additional 585,735 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 3rd quarter worth $66,485,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 357.1% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 521,958 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $74,917,000 after buying an additional 407,764 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 1,020.0% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 435,925 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $62,568,000 after buying an additional 397,003 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price target (down from $150.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wedbush upgraded PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.14.

PulteGroup Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PulteGroup stock traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $110.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 191,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,158,775. The stock has a market cap of $22.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. PulteGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.24 and a twelve month high of $149.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $124.17 and a 200-day moving average of $126.99.

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

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.49%.

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.