PulteGroup, Inc. $PHM Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,555,304 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 655,033 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.07% of PulteGroup worth $1,589,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the 4th quarter valued at $466,653,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,623,917 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $478,828,000 after purchasing an additional 424,011 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,755,241 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $185,108,000 after purchasing an additional 202,870 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 120.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,703,049 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $225,024,000 after purchasing an additional 930,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in PulteGroup by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,570,139 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $184,115,000 after buying an additional 116,736 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut their price target on PulteGroup from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial cut their target price on PulteGroup from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on PulteGroup from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore raised their target price on PulteGroup from $146.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on PulteGroup from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.71.

Insider Activity at PulteGroup

In other PulteGroup news, COO Matthew William Koart sold 7,457 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $894,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 28,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,372,000. The trade was a 20.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lila Snyder sold 3,339 shares of PulteGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.18, for a total value of $391,264.02. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $414,817.20. This trade represents a 48.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

PulteGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PHM opened at $118.58 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.27 and a fifty-two week high of $144.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $119.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.03.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.01). PulteGroup had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 12.14%.The business had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.57 EPS. PulteGroup’s revenue was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 10.06%.

PulteGroup declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Profile

PulteGroup, Inc (NYSE: PHM) is a U.S.-based residential homebuilder that designs, constructs and sells single-family homes and develops master-planned communities. The company operates multiple national and regional brands that target different buyer segments, including first-time buyers, move-up buyers and active-adult customers. Its operations encompass land acquisition and development, home design and construction, community amenities and ongoing customer service and warranty programs.

PulteGroup markets homes under several well-known brands, such as Pulte Homes, Centex and Del Webb, among others, offering a range of product types from entry-level detached homes to larger, higher-end residences and age-restricted active-adult communities.