Avanza Fonder AB Decreases Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Key Points

• Avanza Fonder AB has reduced its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. by 20.3%, now owning 18,201 shares worth approximately $1.92 million after selling 4,641 shares in the 2nd quarter.
• PulteGroup reported $3.03 EPS for its latest quarter, exceeding estimates, but its revenue fell 4.3% year-over-year.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 0.7%.

Avanza Fonder AB decreased its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 20.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,201 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 4,641 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also 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 worth $1,582,000 after buying an additional 2,613 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in PulteGroup by 1,311.3% during the 1st quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 312,723 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $32,148,000 after purchasing an additional 290,564 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,266 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 5,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 42.1% during the 1st quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 770 shares of the construction company's stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on PHM shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on PulteGroup from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $128.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $136.46.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PHM traded down $2.65 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $129.25. The company had a trading volume of 2,172,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,087,894. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $88.07 and a 12 month high of $149.47. The firm has a market cap of $25.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.66, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $125.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.50.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.42 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 15.50%.PulteGroup's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.83 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. PulteGroup's payout ratio is 6.58%.

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.