Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Cuts Stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System decreased its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,700 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position 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 during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 94.5% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 317 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In related news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 89,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,043,420.09. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other PulteGroup news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total transaction of $9,573,873.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 89,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,043,420.09. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $5,931,462.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on PHM. UBS Group raised their target price on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.00.

PulteGroup Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $130.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $26.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.45 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $137.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.65.

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 business had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.27 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. The business’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

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.