Sharp Financial Services LLC Acquires 1,230 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Sharp Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 86.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,660 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the quarter. Sharp Financial Services LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 102.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,297,630,000 after purchasing an additional 4,571,757 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 5.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,647,364,000 after purchasing an additional 585,735 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the third quarter valued at approximately $66,485,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 357.1% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 521,958 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $74,917,000 after purchasing an additional 407,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 1,020.0% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 435,925 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $62,568,000 after purchasing an additional 397,003 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of PHM opened at $116.95 on Thursday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.24 and a 52-week high of $149.47. The business’s fifty day moving average is $119.75 and its 200-day moving average is $127.34. 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 firm has a market cap of $23.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.62, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.67.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.90 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were 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 was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PHM. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com downgraded PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group raised PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $154.00 to $148.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.14.

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.