Atria Investments Inc Reduces Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Atria Investments Inc reduced its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 13.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,557 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,148 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PHM. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 115.1% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 185 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 54.7% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 232 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. acquired a new stake in PulteGroup during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PulteGroup Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of PHM opened at $129.48 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $86.59 and a 52-week high of $149.47. The company has a market cap of $26.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.55, 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $137.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.14.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.25. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 25.30%. The firm had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.90 EPS. PulteGroup’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 5.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James increased their price objective on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wolfe Research cut PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Bank of America upped their price objective 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on PulteGroup from $141.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other 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 value of $2,491,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at $5,931,462.20. This represents a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total value of $9,573,873.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,043,420.09. This represents a 44.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

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.