Raymond James Trust N.A. Raises Stock Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 99.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 37,972 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,970 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $5,450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 1.1% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 464,217 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,993,000 after acquiring an additional 5,022 shares during the last quarter. Interval Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the first quarter worth $1,206,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter valued at about $629,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 54.4% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 188,787 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $22,771,000 after purchasing an additional 66,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 128.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 94,588 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,409,000 after purchasing an additional 53,175 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on PHM. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group raised their target price on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PulteGroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.00.

PulteGroup Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $129.76 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.61 billion, a PE ratio of 9.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.63. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $86.59 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $136.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $125.77.

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

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 5.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In related news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About PulteGroup

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.