Financial Advocates Investment Management Makes New $291,000 Investment in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Financial Advocates Investment Management acquired a new position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,817 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,726,368 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $591,076,000 after acquiring an additional 24,350 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 1.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,484,469 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $406,125,000 after acquiring an additional 95,945 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 13.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,432,965 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $328,261,000 after acquiring an additional 522,032 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 2.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,115,877 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $230,731,000 after acquiring an additional 61,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,003,713 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $310,043,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060,466 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $117.90 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.95. The company has a market cap of $24.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.56. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.16 and a fifty-two week high of $122.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.63% and a return on equity of 25.81%. As a group, equities analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to reacquire up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PHM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.87.

PulteGroup 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.