Pitcairn Co. Acquires 1,274 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Pitcairn Co. raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 11.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,135 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,274 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 54.7% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 232 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 115.1% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 185 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $129.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $26.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.57, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.63. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $86.59 and a 1 year high of $149.47. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.27 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 25.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.90 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 5.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of PulteGroup 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 45,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. The trade was a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.00.

PulteGroup 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.