Everence Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 61.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,460 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 5,590 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PHM. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,190 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 70.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 642 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its position in PulteGroup by 3,118.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 376,717 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $54,070,000 after acquiring an additional 365,012 shares in the last quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in PulteGroup by 67.7% during the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,797 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,124,000 after purchasing an additional 5,976 shares during the period. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the third quarter worth about $2,973,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PHM shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PulteGroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on PulteGroup from $162.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upped 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. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.29.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM traded down $1.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $107.78. 1,682,769 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,635,517. PulteGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.24 and a twelve month high of $149.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $22.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.95, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.67. The business's 50-day moving average price is $123.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.98.

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

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is a boost from PulteGroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.49%.

PulteGroup Company 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.