King Luther Capital Management Corp Invests $204,000 in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

King Luther Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,418 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,593,179 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $802,789,000 after purchasing an additional 16,871 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in PulteGroup by 8.6% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,968,788 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $326,864,000 after purchasing an additional 235,826 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 19.6% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,529,698 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $168,254,000 after buying an additional 250,937 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,025,276 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $147,158,000 after buying an additional 60,854 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 861,487 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $123,649,000 after buying an additional 223,841 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PulteGroup Trading Up 1.3 %

PHM opened at $129.76 on Monday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.59 and a 1-year high of $149.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $136.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.61 billion, a PE ratio of 9.57, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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. The firm had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.27 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 25.30%. PulteGroup’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This is a boost from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PHM shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI cut 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. Wolfe Research cut PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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.