Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC Cuts Stock Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC cut its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 7.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 74,843 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 6,440 shares during the period. PulteGroup comprises approximately 1.5% of Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $10,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 115.1% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 185 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in PulteGroup in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in PulteGroup in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in PulteGroup in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research downgraded PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on PulteGroup from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total value of $2,491,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at $5,931,462.20. This trade represents a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PulteGroup stock opened at $137.61 on Tuesday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $86.59 and a one year high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The business has a fifty day moving average of $136.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.05. The company has a market cap of $28.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.63.

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

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. This is a boost from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.