ING Groep NV Lowers Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

ING Groep NV reduced its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,754 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 30,250 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $3,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Black Swift Group LLC purchased a new stake in PulteGroup during the third quarter worth $1,435,000. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 12,280 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,763,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in PulteGroup by 1,020.0% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 435,925 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $62,568,000 after purchasing an additional 397,003 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in PulteGroup by 1.3% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 10,155 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,458,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the third quarter valued at approximately $207,000. 89.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 89,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,043,420.09. The trade was a 44.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the company’s 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 trade was a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PulteGroup Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of PulteGroup stock opened at $128.89 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $137.31 and a 200 day moving average of $125.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.63. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $86.59 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47.

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

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PHM. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $141.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wolfe Research cut PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on PulteGroup from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.