Venturi Wealth Management LLC Acquires 2,427 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 15.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,317 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,427 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC's holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at about $427,562,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 219.2% during the first quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,039,107 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $106,820,000 after purchasing an additional 713,534 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,937,866 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,300,034,000 after purchasing an additional 683,592 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 136.8% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 988,963 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $107,698,000 after buying an additional 571,251 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,133,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on PulteGroup from $128.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.15.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PHM traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $116.45. 1,414,992 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,200,423. The firm has a market cap of $22.98 billion, a PE ratio of 8.70, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company's 50 day moving average price is $105.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.03. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $88.07 and a 52 week high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 21.01%. PulteGroup's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. 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.