First Trust Advisors LP Buys 313,581 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM

First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,314,501 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 313,581 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 2.26% of PulteGroup worth $507,428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $466,653,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 126.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,284,197 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $502,366,000 after purchasing an additional 2,392,580 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of PulteGroup by 5,485.0% during the 4th quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 930,622 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $109,125,000 after purchasing an additional 913,959 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,555,304 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,589,495,000 after buying an additional 655,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Milford Funds Ltd. purchased a new stake in PulteGroup in the fourth quarter worth approximately $68,379,000. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Evercore boosted their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $100.00 price objective (down from $155.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lila Snyder sold 3,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.18, for a total transaction of $391,264.02. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,540 shares in the company, valued at $414,817.20. The trade was a 48.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Matthew William Koart sold 7,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $894,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 28,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,372,000. The trade was a 20.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PulteGroup Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:PHM opened at $124.24 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $123.27 and a 200 day moving average of $125.12. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $108.49 and a 52 week high of $144.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.18.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.01). PulteGroup had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 12.14%.The firm had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.57 EPS. PulteGroup’s revenue was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.06%.

PulteGroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About PulteGroup

PulteGroup, Inc (NYSE: PHM) is a U.S.-based residential homebuilder that designs, constructs and sells single-family homes and develops master-planned communities. The company operates multiple national and regional brands that target different buyer segments, including first-time buyers, move-up buyers and active-adult customers. Its operations encompass land acquisition and development, home design and construction, community amenities and ongoing customer service and warranty programs.

PulteGroup markets homes under several well-known brands, such as Pulte Homes, Centex and Del Webb, among others, offering a range of product types from entry-level detached homes to larger, higher-end residences and age-restricted active-adult communities.