M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. Buys New Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,074 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $444,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 5.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,254,274 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,647,364,000 after buying an additional 585,735 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in PulteGroup by 102.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,040,828 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,297,630,000 after acquiring an additional 4,571,757 shares during the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its position in PulteGroup by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,593,179 shares of the construction company's stock worth $802,789,000 after purchasing an additional 16,871 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 7.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,864,040 shares of the construction company's stock worth $267,546,000 after buying an additional 135,391 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,424,119 shares of the construction company's stock worth $155,856,000 after purchasing an additional 129,975 shares during the last quarter. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $117.11. 2,441,237 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,712,113. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $120.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.24 and a 12-month high of $149.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.67.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. The firm had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.90 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.96 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from PulteGroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PHM. BTIG Research boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on PulteGroup from $140.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup lowered their price target on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wedbush raised shares of PulteGroup from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.14.

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.