First Horizon Advisors Inc. Cuts Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 7.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,077 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 259 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Greenhaven Associates Inc. increased its stake in PulteGroup by 0.3% in the third quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,593,179 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $802,789,000 after acquiring an additional 16,871 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,968,788 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $326,864,000 after purchasing an additional 235,826 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,529,698 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $168,254,000 after purchasing an additional 250,937 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in PulteGroup by 18.4% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 6.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,025,276 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $147,158,000 after buying an additional 60,854 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on PHM. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target 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. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. BTIG Research boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on PulteGroup from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Six 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.00.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In other news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at $5,931,462.20. This represents a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:PHM opened at $129.76 on Friday. 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 50-day moving average price is $136.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.77. The company has a market capitalization of $26.61 billion, a PE ratio of 9.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.63. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.59 and a 1-year high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $4.48 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 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.