PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Shares Sold by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 24.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 50,925 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 16,241 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $7,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PHM. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup by 115.1% in the 3rd 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. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its position in PulteGroup by 54.7% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 232 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PHM shares. Evercore ISI lowered 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.00.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM stock opened at $135.27 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. PulteGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $86.59 and a twelve month high of $149.47. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.55. The company has a market capitalization of $27.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.63.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 6.49%.

PulteGroup Company 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.