PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. by 53.2%, selling 293,993 shares and retaining 258,951 shares valued at approximately $26.6 million.
• PulteGroup recently reported earnings per share of $3.03, exceeding analysts' expectations, despite a 4.3% decline in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, with a payout ratio of 6.58%, to be paid on October 2nd to shareholders of record.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 53.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 258,951 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 293,993 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.13% of PulteGroup worth $26,620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PHM. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 20.5% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 15,388 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,613 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 1,311.3% during the first quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 312,723 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $32,148,000 after acquiring an additional 290,564 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 8.6% during the first quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 41,305 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,246,000 after acquiring an additional 3,266 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in PulteGroup by 103,800.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,195 shares of the construction company's stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 5,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. raised its position in PulteGroup by 42.1% during the 1st quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 770 shares of the construction company's stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PHM shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $128.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on PulteGroup from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $140.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised PulteGroup from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised PulteGroup from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $136.46.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE PHM traded down $1.51 on Friday, reaching $137.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,266,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,902,088. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.07 and a 12-month high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The business's 50-day moving average price is $123.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.25. The stock has a market cap of $27.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.27.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 15.50%.The business had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.83 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio is 6.58%.

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.