PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 585,735 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 5.49% of PulteGroup worth $1,647,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 54.7% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 232 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 115.1% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 185 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. acquired a new position in PulteGroup during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.29.

PulteGroup Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $120.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $95.36 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $133.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.15. The company has a market cap of $24.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.62.

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

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This is a boost from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is presently 5.90%.

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.