PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) Position Cut by Wright Investors Service Inc.

Wright Investors Service Inc. lessened its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 28.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,065 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 6,865 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc.'s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in PulteGroup by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,937,866 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,300,034,000 after purchasing an additional 683,592 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,120,878 shares of the construction company's stock worth $556,465,000 after purchasing an additional 64,947 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth $427,562,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in PulteGroup by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,425,941 shares of the construction company's stock worth $264,185,000 after purchasing an additional 315,148 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in PulteGroup by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,033,776 shares of the construction company's stock worth $221,478,000 after purchasing an additional 169,736 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PHM. Barclays dropped their price objective on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on PulteGroup from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded PulteGroup from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $134.69.

PulteGroup Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of PHM stock traded up $0.14 on Thursday, hitting $102.01. The stock had a trading volume of 498,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,010,167. The company's 50 day moving average price is $99.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $88.07 and a 1 year high of $149.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.37.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.10. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. The business 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 firm posted $3.10 EPS. Analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. PulteGroup's payout ratio is currently 6.21%.

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.