AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Sells 6,547 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc cut its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 171,955 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 6,547 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $18,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 585,735 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 102.3% in the third 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. boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 0.3% during the third quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,593,179 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $802,789,000 after buying an additional 16,871 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 7.8% in the 3rd 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 valued at $267,546,000 after buying an additional 135,391 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,424,119 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $155,856,000 after buying an additional 129,975 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM stock opened at $115.66 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.24 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $119.28 and its 200-day moving average is $127.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.67.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.25. The firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PHM shares. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Wedbush upgraded PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.14.

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.