Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,788,040 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 231,164 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $527,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Putnam Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 11,008,695 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,136,318,000 after acquiring an additional 197,656 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at about $381,960,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,892,229 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $195,316,000 after purchasing an additional 523,623 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,434,016 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $172,971,000 after purchasing an additional 7,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 18.4% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,085,939 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $130,986,000 after buying an additional 168,746 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PulteGroup stock opened at $139.54 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.17, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $125.73 and a 200-day moving average of $117.51. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.80 and a 52-week high of $140.77.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.56. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.67% and a net margin of 16.75%. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.00 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.9 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,931,462.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 28,993 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.29, for a total value of $3,748,504.97. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 160,330 shares in the company, valued at $20,729,065.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at $5,931,462.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 119,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,814,039 over the last 90 days. 0.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $141.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on PulteGroup from $143.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on PulteGroup from $131.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America raised their price target on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.14.

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.