Eagle Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 86.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,904 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 104,527 shares during the quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $2,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PHM. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the first quarter worth $68,985,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 1,020.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 435,925 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $62,568,000 after purchasing an additional 397,003 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,529,698 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $168,254,000 after purchasing an additional 250,937 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 8.6% in the 2nd 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. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 35.1% during 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.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. This represents a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wolfe Research lowered PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.00.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $137.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $136.69 and a 200-day moving average of $126.05. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $86.59 and a 52-week high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.25. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. The firm had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is presently 5.90%.

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.