Vista Investment Partners LLC Raises Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Vista Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,818 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $2,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PHM. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,647,364,000 after acquiring an additional 585,735 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 102.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,297,630,000 after purchasing an additional 4,571,757 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 0.3% during the third 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 during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in PulteGroup by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,864,040 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $267,546,000 after purchasing an additional 135,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in PulteGroup by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,424,119 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $155,856,000 after buying an additional 129,975 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Down 0.7 %

PulteGroup stock opened at $115.66 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.24 and a 1-year high of $149.47. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.67.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 6.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PHM. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Wedbush upgraded PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.14.

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.