Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Raises Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 31.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,381 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,044 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 464,217 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,993,000 after purchasing an additional 5,022 shares in the last quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 135.5% during the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 8,932 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,077,000 after buying an additional 5,140 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in PulteGroup by 108.6% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 16,430 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,981,000 after buying an additional 8,555 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP purchased a new position in PulteGroup in the first quarter valued at about $1,206,000. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft purchased a new position in PulteGroup in the second quarter valued at about $629,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total value of $9,573,873.81. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,323 shares in the company, valued at $12,043,420.09. This trade represents a 44.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total value of $2,491,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at $5,931,462.20. This represents a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PHM opened at $128.51 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.57. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $86.59 and a 52 week high of $149.47. The company has a market cap of $26.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.25. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 25.30%. The company had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.90 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PHM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.00.

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.