MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 2,142 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

MetLife Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 53,937 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,142 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $7,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 4,571,757 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at $66,485,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in PulteGroup by 1,020.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 19.6% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,529,698 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $168,254,000 after buying an additional 250,937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 8.6% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,968,788 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $326,864,000 after buying an additional 235,826 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

NYSE PHM opened at $135.27 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $136.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.45. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $86.59 and a 52 week high of $149.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.98, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.63.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $4.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.90 earnings per share. PulteGroup’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is presently 5.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research lowered PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on PulteGroup from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.00.

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.