Sowell Financial Services LLC Acquires Shares of 5,877 PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,877 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $604,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,224 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,440,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of PulteGroup by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,384 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 349 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. NDVR Inc. grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. NDVR Inc. now owns 1,984 shares of the construction company's stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 1,271 shares of the construction company's stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PHM. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.69.

PulteGroup Stock Up 2.5%

PulteGroup stock traded up $2.51 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $103.98. 987,559 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,011,575. The stock has a market cap of $20.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.29. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $100.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.57. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $88.07 and a 1-year high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.10. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 16.45%. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

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

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.