Wright Investors Service Inc. Has $4.53 Million Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 31,580 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,685 shares during the period. PulteGroup makes up about 1.2% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $4,533,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 54.7% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 232 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,092 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Patten Group Inc. lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 3,805 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 2.4% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,774 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,931,462.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,931,462.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,043,420.09. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 119,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,814,039. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Down 2.5 %

PHM traded down $3.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $139.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,457,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,851,521. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.80 and a 52 week high of $145.84. 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 company has a market capitalization of $28.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.16, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $132.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.64.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $4.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PHM. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.93.

PulteGroup Company Profile

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.