Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Lowers Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd trimmed its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) by 11.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 69,771 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 8,867 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in PulteGroup were worth $9,973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHM. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 54.7% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 232 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the first quarter worth $28,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the second quarter worth $31,000. Candriam S.C.A. bought a new stake in PulteGroup during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in PulteGroup by 1,059.3% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 313 shares of the construction company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company's stock.

PulteGroup Stock Down 2.5 %

PulteGroup stock traded down $3.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $132.47. The company had a trading volume of 1,655,389 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,837,436. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $71.20 and a 12 month high of $149.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $137.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.16. The company has a market capitalization of $27.86 billion, a PE ratio of 10.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.62.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 25.30%. The business had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.27 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.90 EPS. PulteGroup's revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. PulteGroup's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.41%.

Insider Activity

In other PulteGroup news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total value of $2,491,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 119,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,814,039 in the last 90 days. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on PHM. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. BTIG Research increased their price objective on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their target price on PulteGroup from $131.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average 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.