Aldebaran Financial Inc. Takes Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Aldebaran Financial Inc. acquired a new position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,695 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $297,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 18,049 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,863,000 after purchasing an additional 1,762 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 5,683 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $587,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in PulteGroup by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 62,706 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,473,000 after buying an additional 10,014 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth about $290,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 528.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 128,153 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $13,228,000 after acquiring an additional 107,755 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on PulteGroup from $143.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on PulteGroup from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,323 shares in the company, valued at $12,043,420.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 119,000 shares of company stock worth $15,814,039. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PulteGroup Stock Up 0.2 %

PHM stock opened at $143.47 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.62. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.80 and a 52-week high of $145.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.87.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.49 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 25.67%. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.00 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.9 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is presently 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.