Royal Bank of Canada Sells 136,254 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

Key Points

• The Royal Bank of Canada reduced its shares in PulteGroup, Inc. by 30.5%, now holding 310,959 shares worth approximately $31.97 million.
• Institutional ownership of PulteGroup is high, with 89.90% of shares owned by institutional investors, including significant increases in stakes by companies like Merit Financial Group and Vest Financial LLC.
• PulteGroup reported a $3.03 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, despite a 4.3% year-over-year revenue decline.

Royal Bank of Canada cut its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 30.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 310,959 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 136,254 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.16% of PulteGroup worth $31,966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 20.5% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 1,311.3% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC lifted its position in PulteGroup by 8.6% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in PulteGroup by 103,800.0% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. lifted its position in PulteGroup by 42.1% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on PHM. Zacks Research raised PulteGroup from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $140.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $136.46.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PHM traded down $1.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $137.15. The company had a trading volume of 1,266,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,902,088. 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 company has a market cap of $27.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.27. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.07 and a 12-month high of $149.47. The company has a fifty day moving average of $123.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.25.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.42 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 15.50%.PulteGroup's revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.58%.

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.