Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 370 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Hartford Investment Management Co. lessened its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 2.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,184 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 370 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 27,269 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,289,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in PulteGroup by 6.2% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 297,544 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,890,000 after buying an additional 17,369 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 4.9% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 621,064 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $74,913,000 after buying an additional 28,774 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in PulteGroup by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 464,217 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,993,000 after acquiring an additional 5,022 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 34.4% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 679,940 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $81,901,000 after acquiring an additional 173,914 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total value of $9,573,873.81. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 89,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,043,420.09. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other PulteGroup news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were 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 directly owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at $5,931,462.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total transaction of $9,573,873.81. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 89,323 shares in the company, valued at $12,043,420.09. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 119,000 shares of company stock worth $15,814,039. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PHM shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $129.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $131.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wolfe Research lowered PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.00.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

PHM stock opened at $135.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $28.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $136.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.95. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $70.21 and a 1 year high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.90 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.90%.

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.