Pacer Advisors Inc. Raises Stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 8.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,968,788 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 235,826 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 1.41% of PulteGroup worth $326,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the first quarter valued at approximately $68,985,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,892,229 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $195,316,000 after purchasing an additional 523,623 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,529,698 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $168,254,000 after buying an additional 250,937 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 130.2% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 388,298 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $46,837,000 after buying an additional 219,609 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 40.9% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 733,804 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $88,511,000 after buying an additional 212,837 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In related news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total value of $2,491,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total transaction of $9,573,873.81. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 89,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,043,420.09. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of PulteGroup 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 119,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,814,039 in the last ninety days. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PHM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $143.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Raymond James lifted their target price on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $129.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.71.

PulteGroup Price Performance

NYSE:PHM opened at $141.86 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $68.80 and a one year high of $145.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $29.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $128.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.50.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its 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 net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 25.67%. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.00 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.9 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

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.