Empowered Funds LLC Sells 103,814 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Empowered Funds LLC reduced its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 169,859 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 103,814 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.08% of PulteGroup worth $24,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 1st quarter valued at about $68,985,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 1,020.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 435,925 shares of the construction company's stock worth $62,568,000 after acquiring an additional 397,003 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in PulteGroup by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,529,698 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $168,254,000 after acquiring an additional 250,937 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in PulteGroup by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,968,788 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $326,864,000 after acquiring an additional 235,826 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in PulteGroup by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 861,487 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $123,649,000 after purchasing an additional 223,841 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company's stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of PHM traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $128.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,499,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,839,799. The company has a market capitalization of $26.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.63. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $137.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.17. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.59 and a 1-year high of $149.47.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.27 billion. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 25.30%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.90 earnings per share. Analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. This is a positive change from PulteGroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. PulteGroup's payout ratio is currently 5.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PHM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research cut shares of PulteGroup from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on PulteGroup from $131.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on PulteGroup from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $145.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction of $2,491,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 45,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. This trade represents a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total transaction of $9,573,873.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,043,420.09. This represents a 44.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

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.