609 Shares in PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM Purchased by Johnson Financial Group Inc.

Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 609 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 15.2% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 36,230 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,724,000 after acquiring an additional 4,768 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the first quarter valued at $616,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 6.9% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 159,846 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $16,432,000 after acquiring an additional 10,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 39.7% in the 1st quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 4,022 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM opened at $127.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.79, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $88.07 and a one year high of $142.11. The business has a fifty day moving average of $123.56 and a 200 day moving average of $118.20.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The construction company reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 14.93%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.35 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PHM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of PulteGroup from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $154.00 to $134.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.67.

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.