Baron Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 2,069 PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Baron Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,069 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $297,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in PulteGroup by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,381 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Hill Advisors LLC raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 31.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jackson Hill Advisors LLC now owns 100,500 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $14,425,000 after acquiring an additional 24,000 shares during the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank purchased a new position in PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $214,000. LMR Partners LLP raised its stake in PulteGroup by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 13,286 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after buying an additional 3,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 19,524 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,803,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE PHM opened at $128.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $137.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.46. The company has a market capitalization of $26.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.63. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $86.59 and a 12 month high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.27 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 25.30%. The company’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $2,491,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. This trade represents a 29.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 89,323 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $141.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.00.

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.