Wells Fargo & Company MN Lowers Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Wells Fargo & Company MN reduced its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 569,055 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 70,145 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 0.27% of PulteGroup worth $58,738,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PHM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at $381,960,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in PulteGroup by 54.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,003,713 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $310,043,000 after buying an additional 1,060,466 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in PulteGroup by 63.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,748,119 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $129,354,000 after buying an additional 679,582 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,762,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in PulteGroup by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,432,965 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $328,261,000 after purchasing an additional 522,032 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $114.30 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.28 and a 52 week high of $122.72. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $24.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.56.

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

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

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PHM. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.87.

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.