Swiss National Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 624,400 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,600 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $89,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in PulteGroup during the first quarter valued at about $358,000. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the first quarter valued at about $1,261,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 377.1% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 10,925 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,318,000 after acquiring an additional 8,635 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 108.6% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 16,430 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,981,000 after acquiring an additional 8,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the first quarter valued at about $245,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PHM shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at $5,931,462.20. This trade represents a 29.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total transaction of $9,573,873.81. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 89,323 shares in the company, valued at $12,043,420.09. The trade was a 44.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM opened at $128.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $26.37 billion, a PE ratio of 9.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.63. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $86.59 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $137.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.46.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 25.30%. The firm had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. This is a boost from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.49%.

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.