Morse Asset Management Inc Acquires Shares of 7,715 PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,715 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $849,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its position in PulteGroup by 54.7% during the second 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 period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PulteGroup Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $141.86 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.80 and a 1 year high of $145.84. The firm has a market cap of $29.44 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.60.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.56. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 25.67%. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PHM shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $129.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on PulteGroup from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on PulteGroup from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on PulteGroup from $143.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.71.

PulteGroup Company 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.