Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires 3,228 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. by 19.9% during the first quarter, owning a total of 19,433 shares valued at approximately $1.998 million.
• Several brokerages have raised their price targets for PulteGroup, with Oppenheimer increasing it from $132 to $140 and Royal Bank of Canada raising it from $109 to $112 while maintaining a "sector perform" rating.
• PulteGroup reported earnings of $3.03 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates of $2.92, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 4.3% to $4.40 billion.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 19.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,433 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,228 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 20.5% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 15,388 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,582,000 after acquiring an additional 2,613 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC boosted 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 valued at $32,148,000 after acquiring an additional 290,564 shares during the period. Hudson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 8.6% in 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 during the period. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 103,800.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,195 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 5,190 shares during the period. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 42.1% in the first quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 770 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on PHM. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $136.46.

PulteGroup Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:PHM traded up $1.84 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $133.93. The company had a trading volume of 805,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,147,686. The company has a market capitalization of $26.42 billion, a PE ratio of 10.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $118.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.46. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $88.07 and a 52 week high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.42 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.83 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.