MML Investors Services LLC Has $7.74 Million Stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,949 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $7,743,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in PulteGroup by 2,732.3% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 221,172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $31,745,000 after acquiring an additional 213,363 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of PulteGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,586,000. Zacks Investment Management lifted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 10.3% in the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 262,194 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $37,633,000 after purchasing an additional 24,440 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 15.4% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,829 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in PulteGroup by 7.9% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 45,295 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,242,000 after purchasing an additional 3,303 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on PHM. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com cut PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (down from $150.00) on shares of PulteGroup in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on PulteGroup from $198.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price objective on PulteGroup from $139.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.29.

PulteGroup Stock Down 2.8 %

PulteGroup stock opened at $121.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. PulteGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $95.36 and a fifty-two week high of $149.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $133.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.15. The firm has a market cap of $25.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.62.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $4.48 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.90 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

PulteGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from PulteGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.49%.

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.