Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 957 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 536,232 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 957 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $76,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PHM. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the first quarter worth about $68,985,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 19.6% in 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 in the last quarter. 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 worth $326,864,000 after buying an additional 235,826 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 35.1% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 861,487 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $123,649,000 after buying an additional 223,841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Homestead Advisers Corp lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 89.8% in the first quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp now owns 375,500 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,122,000 after buying an additional 177,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of PHM stock opened at $129.48 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $86.59 and a 12 month high of $149.47. The stock has a market cap of $26.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.14.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This is a boost from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 5.90%.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In other news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,931,462.20. This represents a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 89,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,043,420.09. This trade represents a 44.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $148.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $131.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.00.

PulteGroup 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.