Vision Capital Corp Takes Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Vision Capital Corp purchased a new stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 155,700 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $22,348,000. PulteGroup comprises approximately 3.6% of Vision Capital Corp's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Vision Capital Corp owned about 0.08% of PulteGroup as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PHM. Interval Partners LP bought a new stake in PulteGroup in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,206,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 2nd quarter worth $629,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in PulteGroup by 128.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 94,588 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $11,409,000 after acquiring an additional 53,175 shares during the last quarter. New Millennium Group LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup by 10,625.8% during the third quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,370,000 after purchasing an additional 9,457 shares during the period. Finally, Trustmark National Bank Trust Department raised its stake in PulteGroup by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 39,589 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,682,000 after acquiring an additional 11,269 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

NYSE:PHM traded up $7.85 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $137.61. The company had a trading volume of 3,180,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,833,250. The firm has a market cap of $28.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.57, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $86.59 and a 52 week high of $149.47. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $136.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.90.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.27 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.30% and a net margin of 16.64%. PulteGroup's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.90 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from PulteGroup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. PulteGroup's payout ratio is 5.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PulteGroup news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $5,931,462.20. This represents a 29.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PHM shares. Wolfe Research lowered shares of PulteGroup from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Bank of America increased their price objective on PulteGroup from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on PulteGroup from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on PulteGroup from $148.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Six 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.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.