AdvisorShares Investments LLC Sells 738 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,141 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 738 shares during the period. AdvisorShares Investments LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 27,269 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,289,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 166.6% during the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 13,146 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 8,215 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 297,544 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,890,000 after purchasing an additional 17,369 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter worth about $719,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 621,064 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $74,913,000 after purchasing an additional 28,774 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on PHM. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on PulteGroup from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on PulteGroup from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on PulteGroup from $143.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on PulteGroup from $141.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.14.

PulteGroup Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of PHM opened at $131.44 on Thursday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.80 and a 1 year high of $136.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.00. The stock has a market cap of $27.65 billion, a PE ratio of 10.52, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.62.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.49 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.67% and a net margin of 16.75%. PulteGroup’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.00 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction of $2,491,660.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other PulteGroup news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $12,043,420.09. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at $5,931,462.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 119,000 shares of company stock worth $15,814,039 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

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.