Czech National Bank Grows Stock Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Czech National Bank increased its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,466 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 2,192 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $4,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,647,364,000 after acquiring an additional 585,735 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 102.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,297,630,000 after purchasing an additional 4,571,757 shares during the period. Greenhaven Associates Inc. lifted its position in PulteGroup by 0.3% during the third quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,593,179 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $802,789,000 after purchasing an additional 16,871 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 8.6% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,968,788 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $326,864,000 after purchasing an additional 235,826 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in PulteGroup by 7.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,864,040 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $267,546,000 after buying an additional 135,391 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PHM. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $154.00 to $148.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 target price (down previously from $150.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.21.

PulteGroup Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of PHM stock opened at $115.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $23.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.54, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.24 and a 52 week high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.27 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.90 earnings per share. Analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.49%.

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.