Affinity Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Affinity Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,339 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 248 shares during the quarter. PulteGroup comprises about 1.2% of Affinity Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 54.7% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 232 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 185 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in PulteGroup during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,931,462.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other PulteGroup news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total value of $9,573,873.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,043,420.09. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total value of $2,491,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on PHM shares. Wolfe Research cut shares of PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on PulteGroup from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $141.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.00.

PulteGroup Stock Down 0.9 %

PulteGroup stock opened at $128.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.18 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $137.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.83.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.27 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 25.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.90 EPS. Analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.90%.

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.