PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Shares Sold by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd lessened its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,633 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,312 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PHM. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 1st quarter valued at about $68,985,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,529,698 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $168,254,000 after buying an additional 250,937 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,968,788 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $326,864,000 after purchasing an additional 235,826 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 223,841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Homestead Advisers Corp increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 89.8% in the 1st quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp now owns 375,500 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $45,122,000 after purchasing an additional 177,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI cut their price target on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James lifted their price target on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Oppenheimer cut their price target on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total value of $2,491,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 45,230 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,323 shares in the company, valued at $12,043,420.09. This trade represents a 44.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Trading Up 1.6 %

PHM opened at $129.48 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $86.59 and a one year high of $149.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.55 billion, a PE ratio of 9.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.63. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $137.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.14. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $2.90 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.68%. This is a boost from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 5.90%.

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.