Swedbank AB Decreases Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Swedbank AB decreased its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 564,197 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 10,077 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.28% of PulteGroup worth $61,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Nilsine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 929.2% during the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 20,574 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 18,575 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 43,431 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,730,000 after purchasing an additional 10,416 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,589 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 2,644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 72,064 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,848,000 after purchasing an additional 3,275 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE:PHM opened at $112.90 on Thursday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.24 and a 52 week high of $149.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $118.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.58. The stock has a market cap of $23.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.33, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.67.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 6.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group upgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $154.00 to $148.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wedbush upgraded 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.29.

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.