Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Sells 4,458 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services LLC reduced its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. by 30% during Q2, selling 4,458 shares, leaving them with a total of 10,420 shares valued at approximately $1,099,000.
• PulteGroup recently reported earnings per share of $3.03, beating estimates, although revenue declined 4.3% compared to the prior year, amounting to $4.40 billion.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share for a yield of 0.6%, which was paid out on October 2nd to investors of record as of September 16th.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management reduced its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 30.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,420 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 4,458 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 40.3% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,486,330 shares of the construction company's stock worth $358,395,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001,290 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,570,022 shares of the construction company's stock worth $264,216,000 after buying an additional 271,917 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 1st quarter valued at $213,092,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,579,792 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $162,403,000 after buying an additional 276,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 25.6% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,397,409 shares of the construction company's stock worth $143,654,000 after acquiring an additional 284,627 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

PulteGroup Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $137.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $88.07 and a 52-week high of $149.47. The company's 50 day moving average price is $129.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.29.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. PulteGroup had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 21.01%. 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 company posted $3.83 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. PulteGroup's payout ratio is currently 6.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on PHM shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised PulteGroup from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on PulteGroup from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.31.

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.

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