Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Buys 9,269 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 11.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,647 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,269 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in PulteGroup were worth $9,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in PulteGroup by 43.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in PulteGroup during the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in PulteGroup during the first quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

PulteGroup Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of PHM stock traded up $1.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $105.56. 2,995,971 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,023,014. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $88.07 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The company's 50 day moving average is $101.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $21.16 billion, a PE ratio of 7.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.29.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.10. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 16.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PHM shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of PulteGroup from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $134.69.

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.