Mount Lucas Management LP Sells 15,748 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Mount Lucas Management LP lessened its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,830 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 15,748 shares during the period. PulteGroup comprises 1.3% of Mount Lucas Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $4,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $2,103,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 4,151.3% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,658 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $967,000. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new position in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $246,000. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on PHM. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $129.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wolfe Research cut shares of PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $131.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,043,420.09. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total transaction of $9,573,873.81. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,043,420.09. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at $5,931,462.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 119,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,814,039. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PulteGroup stock traded up $1.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $130.20. The company had a trading volume of 2,570,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,844,496. 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 company has a market capitalization of $27.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.62. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.42. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.80 and a 1-year high of $136.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.49 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 25.67%. PulteGroup’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

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

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.