Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Raises Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 18.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,893 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,057 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings in PulteGroup were worth $3,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PHM. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in 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 last quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 41,305 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,246,000 after purchasing an additional 3,266 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 1,311.3% in the first quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 312,723 shares of the construction company's stock worth $32,148,000 after buying an additional 290,564 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 103,800.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,195 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $534,000 after buying an additional 5,190 shares during the period. Finally, Argyle Capital Management LLC grew its position in PulteGroup by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 42,241 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,600,000 after buying an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE PHM traded down $1.69 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $103.34. The stock had a trading volume of 1,765,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,016,533. The business's 50 day moving average is $99.64 and its 200-day moving average is $107.60. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $88.07 and a 52 week high of $149.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $20.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.03, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.29.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.10. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. The business had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.10 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PHM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group cut their price objective on PulteGroup from $151.00 to $141.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $134.69.

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.