Segment Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Segment Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 94.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,800 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 83,492 shares during the quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 54.7% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,580 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 912 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,418 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 3.7% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 323,003 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,558,000 after purchasing an additional 11,501 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 23.1% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 18,364 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,022,000 after buying an additional 3,446 shares during the period. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its stake in PulteGroup by 7.7% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 103,233 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $11,366,000 after buying an additional 7,405 shares in the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM opened at $115.76 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $120.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.25. The stock has a market cap of $23.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.67. PulteGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $100.24 and a one year high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.25. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. The firm had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.96 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 6.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PHM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.14.

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.