Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Acquires Shares of 7,720 PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 7,720 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $794,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 349 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the first quarter worth about $39,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the first quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded PulteGroup from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $151.00 to $141.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.69.

PulteGroup Trading Down 1.9%

PHM stock traded down $2.07 on Friday, reaching $109.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,616,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,027,601. The firm has a market cap of $21.90 billion, a PE ratio of 7.71, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.77. 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 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.10. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.45% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The business had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.86 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.10 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio is presently 6.21%.

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.