Fiera Capital Corp Reduces Position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Fiera Capital Corp lessened its position in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 592,665 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 117,507 shares during the quarter. Fiera Capital Corp owned about 0.28% of PulteGroup worth $61,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,726,368 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $591,076,000 after purchasing an additional 24,350 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,484,469 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $406,125,000 after purchasing an additional 95,945 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,432,965 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $328,261,000 after purchasing an additional 522,032 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,115,877 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $230,731,000 after purchasing an additional 61,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 54.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,003,713 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $310,043,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060,466 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on PHM shares. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (up from $120.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com upgraded PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on PulteGroup from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on PulteGroup from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.87.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PHM stock traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $119.07. 1,316,442 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,794,050. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $113.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.70. The stock has a market cap of $25.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.56. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.16 and a fifty-two week high of $122.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.51. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.81% and a net margin of 16.63%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. Research analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.41%.

PulteGroup 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.