Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Takes Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 19,290 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,769,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new position in PulteGroup in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 54.7% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 232 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in PulteGroup in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. bought a new position in PulteGroup in the second quarter worth about $33,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PHM shares. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, August 16th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $131.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on PulteGroup from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on PulteGroup from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.14.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 28,993 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.29, for a total value of $3,748,504.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 160,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,729,065.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 $5,931,462.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 28,993 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.29, for a total value of $3,748,504.97. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 160,330 shares in the company, valued at $20,729,065.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 119,000 shares of company stock worth $15,814,039 over the last quarter. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $139.39 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. PulteGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.80 and a twelve month high of $145.84. The company’s 50 day moving average is $132.62 and its 200 day moving average is $120.75. The company has a market cap of $28.93 billion, a PE ratio of 11.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.62.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the company posted $3.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.9 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.