Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 22,842 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 53.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 19,913 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 22,842 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $2,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 115.1% in the third 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 period. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in PulteGroup during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings in 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. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $125.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $25.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.62. 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 $95.36 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.11.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $4.48 billion for 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%. PulteGroup’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PHM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price target on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.00.

About PulteGroup

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.